Yemen Rejects Shi’ite Offer of Ceasefire

Offer Comes Days After Conference Calls for Peace

Just days after a London Conference on Yemen urged the government to come to an agreement to end its on-going clash with the Shi’ite Houthi rebel faction in the north, the government’s Supreme Defense Council angrily rejected a ceasefire offer from the group.

The Houthis said they were willing to accept government conditions in return for a truce, and that their only demand was the end to military operations against them. They also accepted all five demands made by the government previously.

But the government said the offer was unacceptable because “it sets as a condition an end to military operations.” They also cited the Houthi faction’s reluctance to accept the Saudi government’s demand to create a “buffer zone.”

The Houthis have repeatedly offered peace talks with the Saudis as well, again on condition that all attacks against them ended. Those offers have been rejected, repeatedly, by the Saudi government.

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.