Yemen's Houthi rebels halt missile attacks

The move by Houthi rebels to stop their attacks on the Saudi-led coalition came amid growing international pressure to end Yemen's almost four-year long war.

YEMEN CONFLICT HOUTHIS CEASEFIRE

Yemenis were seen celebrating on the streets of the capital, Sana'a, after the announcement. (AAP)

Yemen's Houthi rebels have announced they will stop their missile and drone attacks on the Saudi-led coalition, according to a statement posted by the group on Twitter.

The move came amid growing international pressure to end Yemen's almost four-year long war, as the United Nations envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, sought to hold a new round of peace talks, scheduled to take place in Sweden by the end of this year.

"After we communicated with the UN envoy, we announce our initiative to halt attacks as a sign of goodwill," leader of the Houthi Revolutionary Committee Mohammed al-Houthi said in the statement, adding it would "deprive the coalition of any excuse not to stop their aggression or siege of Yemen".

Yemenis were seen celebrating and dancing on the streets of the capital, Sana'a, after the announcement, as documented by an epa-efe photographer.

In recent months, the rebel group had carried out numerous rocket attacks against Saudi Arabia, in response to the Arab coalition's military intervention against the allegedly Iran-backed Houthi insurgents in Yemen.

Yemen has been caught up in a power struggle between the Saudi-backed government and the Houthi rebels since late 2014.


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Source: AAP



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