UN announces agreement on 72-hour Yemen cease-fire

Ahmed said in a statement late Monday that he received assurances from all parties to the conflict to cease hostilities at 11:59 p.m. local time on Wednesday for an initial period of 72 hours that is subject to renewal.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called on Yemen’s warring parties to take the necessary measures to implement the cease-fire, “sustain it, and strongly encourage its unconditional renewal.”

The United States, alongside the international community, is ready to provide assistance and will continue to work with all parties to conclude a negotiated settlement that will bring a permanent and lasting end to the conflict.

The Saudi-led coalition and the United States are backing the internationally recognized government of Yemen’s president, Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi, whose loyalists now control most of Yemen’s south and are slowly driving out the Houthis and their allies from northern provinces.