Kerry Announces A Cessation Of Hostilities In Yemen To Begin Thursday

ABU DHABI, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The armed Houthi movement and Saudi-led military alliance fighting in Yemen have agreed to observe a cessation of hostilities from Nov. 17, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday.

Both parties have also agreed to work towards forming a unity government, he added.

The country’s near 20-month war has pitted the Iran-aligned Houthis against the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, killing more than 10,000 people and displaced more than three million.

Speaking after talks in Oman, which is close to the Houthi group, and the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition supporting Hadi, Kerry said he had presented the parties with a document calling on pushing a proposed peace deal that included a call for a ceasefire.

He said the Houthis have agreed to “abide by the terms of the April 10 cessation of hostilities beginning on Nov. 17, provided the other party implements the same commitment and thus far the Emiratis and the Saudis...they have both agreed to try to move forward with this.”

He was referring to a ceasefire that began in April and lasted until the end of August when U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait ended in disagreement

Kerry also said the parties “have agreed to work towards the establishing a new national unity government in a safe and secure Sanaa...as a goal towards the end of the year.”