Ceasefire aimed at ending Yemen's 'forgotten war' disrupted by violence
However, the truce - whatever its inadequacies - is the most
serious attempt yet to stop the fighting that has left the country
fragmented and allowed al-Qaeda to take hold of territory
A shaky truce has stopped the fighting in only some parts of
Yemen, as UN-backed efforts get under way to end a civil war that has
killed 6,200 Yemenis and enabled al-Qaeda to set up its own mini-state
in the south of the country.
Often referred to as the “forgotten war”, the conflict has torn the
Yemen apart after Saudi Arabia and a coalition of nine Sunni states
intervened in March last year to stop the victory of Houthi rebels in
alliance with armed forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition has inflicted heavy loss of life
on civilians, including 97 people, 25 of them children, who died when
bombs were dropped on a crowded market place in north western Yemen on
15 March.
“People are no longer able to live because of the war which destroyed
everything,” Shawqi Abdullah, a taxi driver in the capital Sanaa told a
news agency as the truce took hold. “We had a calm night with no planes
flying and fear of bombs. And we hope that the war ends.”
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