This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/8511705.stm
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Yemen announces truce with rebels | Yemen announces truce with rebels |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The Yemeni authorities have announced a ceasefire with Shia rebels fighting government forces in the north. | The Yemeni authorities have announced a ceasefire with Shia rebels fighting government forces in the north. |
| The truce is to start at midnight local time (2100 GMT) and comes after days of negotiations between the government and rebels on how to end the conflict. | |
| The government launched its latest offensive against the rebels, known as Houthis, last August. | The government launched its latest offensive against the rebels, known as Houthis, last August. |
| Saudi Arabia has been drawn into the conflict, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. | Saudi Arabia has been drawn into the conflict, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. |
| News of the ceasefire was issued in a presidential decree which was read out on state television, according to the AFP news agency. | News of the ceasefire was issued in a presidential decree which was read out on state television, according to the AFP news agency. |
| "We decided to stop military operations in the north-west from midnight," the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, declared. | "We decided to stop military operations in the north-west from midnight," the Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, declared. |
| There has been no immediate response from the rebels. | There has been no immediate response from the rebels. |
| The Yemeni announcement comes after the rebels reportedly accepted several conditions, including a pledge not to attack Saudi Arabia, put forward by the government to end the hostilities. | |
| Houthi rebels from the minority Shia Zaidi sect based in the north-western Saada district have been battling the government since 2004. | |
| The UN refugee agency says 250,000 Yemenis have been displaced by fighting in the region. |