Ceasefire aimed at ending Yemen's 'forgotten war' disrupted by violence
However, the truce - whatever its inadequacies - is the most serious attempt yet to stop the fighting that has left the country fragmented and allowed al-Qaeda to take hold of territory
The town of Taiz is under siege by the Houthis Reuters
Patrick Cockburn
Monday 11 April 2016
A shaky truce has stopped the fighting in only some parts of Yemen, as UN-backed efforts get under way to end a civil war that has killed 6,200 Yemenis and enabled al-Qaeda to set up its own mini-state in the south of the country.
Often referred to as the forgotten war, the conflict has torn the Yemen apart after Saudi Arabia and a coalition of nine Sunni states intervened in March last year to stop the victory of Houthi rebels in alliance with armed forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition has inflicted heavy loss of life on civilians, including 97 people, 25 of them children, who died when bombs were dropped on a crowded market place in north western Yemen on 15 March.
People are no longer able to live because of the war which destroyed everything, Shawqi Abdullah, a taxi driver in the capital Sanaa told a news agency as the truce took hold. We had a calm night with no planes flying and fear of bombs. And we hope that the war ends.
A shaky truce has stopped the fighting in only some parts of Yemen, as UN-backed efforts get under way to end a civil war that has killed 6,200 Yemenis and enabled al-Qaeda to set up its own mini-state in the south of the country.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/ceasefire-aimed-at-ending-yemens-forgotten-war-dispruted-by-violence-a6979581.html