UAE welcomes two-month truce in Yemen - state news agency

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has welcomed the announcement of a U.N.-brokered truce in Yemen and the halt of all military operations there and on the Saudi-Yemeni border, the UAE's state news agency WAM reported on Saturday.

Earlier on Saturday, the Iran-aligned Houthi group, which has been fighting a coalition including the UAE in Yemen, also welcomed the truce and said it was committed to it as long as the other side abided by it, a spokesperson said on Twitter. The nationwide truce is the first for years in Yemen's seven-year conflict and will allow fuel imports into Houthi-held areas and some flights to operate from Sanaa airport, an United Nations envoy said on Friday.

The U.N.-brokered deal between the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis is the most significant step yet towards ending a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and pushed millions into hunger. The last coordinated cessation of hostilities nationwide was during peace talks in 2016. The Saudi-led coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally recognised government from the capital, Sanaa, in late 2014.