Yemen cease-fire

In Yemen’s civil war between Arabian coalition-backed Yemeni forces and Houthi rebels, a UN-brokered cease-fire went into effect on April 10 and as of press time was largely holding, despite reports of sproradic artillery fire. The cease-fire allowed food and medical aid to reach Yemen.

Yemen’s civil war has left more than 6,200 people dead, mostly civilians, wounded over 35,000 and displaced more than 2½ million. It began in 2014 when armed Houthis, a Shia Muslim ethnic group from northern Yemen, took over the capital city, Sana’a, forcing the majority-Sunni government to flee the country. In March 2015, after Houthis took control of the port city of Aden, a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states began air strikes against Houthi positions. The strikes have been blamed for the majority of the civilian casualties.

Saudi-sponsored peace talks, scheduled for April 17, were delayed and had not yet been held as of press time. 

On April 24-25, the coalition, along with Yemeni forces, recaptured the Yemeni port of Mukalla, which had been held by al-Qaeda militants since April 2015.