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Yemen declares truce with rebels | |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The Yemeni authorities have declared a ceasefire with rebels fighting government forces in the north. | |
The truce started at midnight local time (2100 GMT) and came after days of negotiations between the government and rebels on how to end the conflict. | |
The leader of the rebels, known as Houthis, ordered his men to abide by the truce. | |
The rebels have been battling Yemen's army since 2004. More than 250,000 have been displaced in the region. | |
The government launched its latest offensive against the rebels last August. Saudi Arabia has also been drawn into the conflict. | |
Observers say many will question how long the declared truce may last. | |
The Yemeni government still faces two other conflicts: against southern separatists and militants sympathetic to al-Qaeda. | |
Rebel statement | |
News of the ceasefire came in a presidential decree read out on state television. | |
"We decided to stop military operations in the north-west from midnight," the decree said. | |
In a statement in response, rebel leader Abdel-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi ordered his fighters to "cease combat on all fronts at the hours announced by the government". | |
"Once the ceasefire is consolidated, we will proceed to reopening roads and dismantling checkpoints and barricades," the statement added. | |
The move 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 for more than five years. |