Ceasefire Expires, Saudis Resume Airstrikes on Yemen

UN Push to Extend Truce Unsuccessful

UN officials were desperately pushing the Saudi government to agree to an extension of the five-day humanitarian ceasefire, hoping to allow a bit more aid to flow into Yemen before the resumption of hostilities.

The push was unsuccessful, however, and with the 11 pm deadline Sunday evening, the Saudis immediately resumed strikes in force across Yemen.

While a fair amount of humanitarian aid was transported to a UN hub in Djibouti over the course of the five days, it’s not clear how much actually made it into Yemen.

Iran’s own cargo ship of aid never even made it close to Yemen, and as of Sunday night they were still said to be at least four days away from the Yemeni port of Hodeida, their intended destination.

During the five-day ceasefire, fighting slowed quite a bit, though there were still skirmishes between the Houthis and unaffiliated Sunni militias, and Saudi warplanes launched a few strikes here and there.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.