PRESS TRUST OF INDIA Yeman Dec 15| 15: The Saudi-led coalition battling Iranbacked Houthi rebels in Yemen said on Tuesday that a ceasefire had begun at noon as scheduled. Coalition spokesperson brigadier general Ahmed al-Assiri confirmed that the truce had taken effect. The rebel forces have yet to say if they will abide by the ceasefire. It coincides with the start of United Nations-brokered talks in Switzerland between Yemeni government and rebel representatives. Shortly after the ceasefire began, mortar rounds hit progovernment forces south of the flashpoint city of Taez, a Yemeni security official said. “Five mortar rounds hit positions of the legitimate forces in Shuraija after the truce entered into effect,” said police officer Taha al-Subhi. Residents in Taez reported hearing shelling in the city. The coalition said earlier that the truce followed a request by Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, but warned it “reserves the right to respond in case of any violation” by the rebels. In May a five-day pause in fighting proposed by Saudi Arabia allowed some aid into Yemen before the coalition resumed air strikes, blaming ceasefire violations by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Under the Hadi government’s ceasefire plan, a seven-day truce “would be renewed automatically if the other party commits to it”, the coalition statement carried by the Saudi state news agency SPA cited Hadi as saying. The coalition began air strikes in March after the Houthis and their allies overran much of Yemen. It later sent in ground troops.
