Yemen foes set 3-day truce, U.N. says

UNITED NATIONS -- The warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire that is to take effect shortly before midnight Wednesday, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen announced Monday.

A U.N. statement said Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the special envoy, "welcomes the restoration of the Cessation of Hostilities, which will spare the Yemeni people further bloodshed and will allow for the expanded delivery of humanitarian assistance."

Ahmed said he had received assurances from all Yemeni parties to cease hostilities at 11:59 p.m. Yemen time Wednesday "for an initial period of 72 hours, subject to renewal."

He said the warring factions had agreed to follow the terms and conditions of a temporary April cease-fire agreement. He expressed hope that the cease-fire would lead "to a permanent and lasting end to the conflict."

Ahmed said the agreement obliges all parties "to allow free and unhindered access for humanitarian supplies and personnel" to all parts of Yemen.

More than 4,000 civilians have been killed and 3 million of the country's 26 million people have been driven from their homes by the fighting. Hunger has become widespread in the Arab world's poorest country.

The war in Yemen began in 2014 when Shiite rebels known as Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies began a campaign of airstrikes against the rebels. The Saudi-led coalition and the United States back the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

A Section on 10/18/2016

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