The UN-brokered ceasefire only lasted a matter of hours. Air-strikes and fierce fighting broke Yemen’s truce soon after it came into force at
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The UN-brokered ceasefire only lasted a matter of hours.
Air-strikes and fierce fighting broke Yemen’s truce soon after it came into force at midnight local time on Friday, plunging the country back into the violence that has killed more than 3,000 people since March.
Saudi-led air strikes hit the capital Sanaa, which is controlled by Houthi rebels. And bombing pounded Yemen’s third largest city Taiz, in the southwest, where clashes were also reported.
A coalition of Arab states led by Saudi Arabia has been bombing the Iranian-allied Houthi rebel movement since late March in efforts to restore to power Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The humanitarian truce was meant to help Yemen’s beleaguered civilians – 80 per cent of whom are now in need of aid or protection.
Children are just looking for places to be safe for a while. These children in Saada find safety in the caves. #Yemen pic.twitter.com/RvryhPYsEh
— UNICEF Yemen (@UNICEF_Yemen) 6 Juillet 2015
UN humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said last week: “Millions are facing the threat of famine because food assistance is not reaching them, and countless wounded are dying because hospitals are closing down due to lack of fuel.”