Saudi FM Yemen ceasefire to start Tuesday

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Friday that a humanitarian ceasefire in the Yemen conflict would start on Tuesday.

"We have made a decision that the ceasefire will begin this Tuesday, May 12, at 11.00 pm and will last for five days subject to renewal if it works out," Adel al-Jubeir said at a meeting of Gulf ministers in Paris.

Speaking at a press conference alongside US Secretary of State John Kerry, al-Jubeir said the success of the ceasefire was entirely up to the Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies.

"The ceasefire will end should Huthis or their allies not live up to the agreement -- this is a chance for the Huthis to show that they care about their people and they care about the Yemen people," al-Jubeir added.

Saudi Arabia, which has led six weeks of air strikes on Yemen in support of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, warned Thursday that Huthi rebels had crossed a "red line" by shelling populated border areas in the kingdom.

Kerry said the ceasefire was a "renewable commitment" that, if it held, "opens the door to possibility of an extension".

He said anyone who cares about Yemeni people "should take clear notice of the fact that a human catastrophe is building".
Source: AFP