Yemen truce largely holding amid reports of air strikes and fightingApril 12, 2016 - 08:56 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A truce aimed at ending more than a year of war in Yemen appeared to be largely holding on Monday, April 11, although residents said fighting was still going on in parts of the country, according to Reuters. The UN-brokered ceasefire is meant to precede peace talks in a country that has become the face of rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It seemed to be holding up despite "pockets of violence", UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in New York. Artillery fire, gun battles and air strikes by a Saudi-led coalition were reported across Yemen, but a spokesman for the Iranian-allied Houthi movement said on Monday the group would respect the cessation of hostilities. "We express our condemnation of air strikes and the military advances made in some fronts since this morning," Mohammed Abdel-Salam said in a statement on his Facebook page. The Houthis said they had set up committees in six provinces to prevent escalation and coordinate aid efforts with the United Nations. Earlier on Monday, the Yemeni government and its Houthi adversaries blamed each other for violence in the city of Taiz. Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV accused the Houthis of launching a ballistic missile, in violation of the truce. The Soviet-era Tochka missile was fired into the battle-scarred northern desert province of al-Jawf but was intercepted in mid-air, the network reported. Residents reported air attacks in support of government forces in the provinces of Taiz, al-Jawf and on the outskirts of Sanaa, the capital. "There's continuous shelling in the downtown and the suburbs, and we can hear explosions across the city," said Jameel Abdo Ahmed, a civil servant in the battered frontline city of Taiz. Another resident said: "Nothing's changed." A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the reports of continued air strikes. Photo: Reuters Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day May 17 commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. |