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Saudi-led coalition says Yemen truce ends Saturday Yemeni government forces clash with militants over Aden port
(about 14 hours later)
SANAA, Yemen — The truce in Yemen between Shiite rebels and a Saudi-led military coalition has formally ended, according to Saudi Arabia’s state-run news agency. CAIRO — Yemeni government forces clashed Sunday with militant groups for control over the strategic Port of Aden in the southern city with the same name, Yemeni government officials said.
The truce technically came into effect on Dec. 15, 2015 as a mutual show of good faith during peace negotiations taking place in Switzerland. The officials say the militants — who are using the port to run lucrative smuggling operations — have refused to hand over the port to the government. They accuse the militants of receiving support from al-Qaida.
But the truce never truly took hold on the ground in Yemen, with both sides ignoring it. The United Nations said on Dec. 20 there were “numerous violations” of the cease-fire agreement from the very start. A drive-by shooting on Thursday in Aden killed Ahmed al-Idrisi, a top pro-government militia leader, and five of his companions, just hours after he reluctantly agreed to hand over control of the city’s port to government troops.
Yemen’s conflict pits the internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi-led, U.S.-supported coalition against the rebels, known as Houthis, who are allied with a former president. Local affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have also exploited Yemen’s chaos to grab land and exercise influence. Security officials claimed that al-Idrisi publicly backed the government but maintained secret deals with extremists and anti-government forces.
According to U.N. figures, the war in Yemen has killed at least 5,884 people since March, when fighting escalated after the Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes targeting the rebels. Residents in a neighborhood near the port described seeing militiamen deploy in the area and hearing clashes between the militia fighters and government forces.
In Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, independent security officials said 14 civilians including four children were killed since Friday by shelling from the rebels, who have the city under a siege. The Houthis have been indiscriminately shelling the war-devastated city and blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid for months, according to residents and aid groups. All officials and residents spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters or feared reprisals.
Eleven anti-rebel fighters were killed west and south of Taiz province, where the city with the same name is located, since Friday, according to the officials. Yemen has been embroiled in fighting pitting the country’s internationally recognized government based in Aden and a U.S-backed Saudi-led coalition against Shiite rebels known as Houthis, who are allied with a former president.
The officials said more than 22 Houthi and allied fighters were killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition between Friday and midday Saturday in the provinces of Marib and Jawf. Al-Qaida and a local Islamic State affiliate have been able to take advantage of the chaos, expanding their reach in the chaos of Yemen’s larger conflict. The local al-Qaida branch has seized territory in Yemen’s south and east, and has a growing presence in Aden..
The officials, who back neither side in the conflict, spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to brief reporters. President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi appointed Aidarous al-Zubaidi as the new Aden governor last month after a Dec. 6 bomb claimed by a local Islamic State affiliate killed a former Aden governor.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.