A 72-hour ceasefire in Yemen will go into effect starting on Thursday Oct 20,2016, the United Nations (UN)has announced.
A cessation of hostilities that first went into effect in April "will re-enter into force at 23:59 (local time) on 19 October 2016, for an initial period of 72 hours, subject to renewal," the UN's special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement on Monday Oct 17,2016
The announcement comes after Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi agreed to the ceasefire in a statement earlier on Monday, a day after international calls for a truce.
Earlier on Monday, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abdel-Malek al-Mekhlafi said on his official Twitter feed that President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi had agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire with the possibility of it being extended.
"The President agreed to a 72 hrs ceasefire to be extended if the other party adheres to it, activates the DCC (De-escalation and Coordination Committee) and lifts the siege of Taiz," he said.
The DCC is the United Nations-backed military commission responsible for overseeing ceasefires in Yemen.
Yemen has been rocked by a deadly war since pro-Iran rebels overran the capital Sanaa in September 2014.
However, the conflict escalated after an Arab coalition, led by Riyadh, launched a bombing campaign against the Shiite Huthi rebels and their allies in March 2015.
The conflict in Yemen has killed almost 6,900 people, wounded more than 35,000 and displaced at least three million since March last year, according to the United Nations.
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