One day after the latest Yemen ceasefire began, and almost immediately collapsed, the fighting in the nation is once again escalating, with clashes reported in several areas across the country, and aid shipments, as usual, remaining undelivered.
Saudi state media and forces loyal to the pro-Saudi Hadi faction were quick to blame the Houthis for violations of the truce this time, though the Houthis dispute this, and insist there was no communication with them on when the ceasefire was to start in the first place.
This is the second failed ceasefire of the montrh, as a previous one, announced by the UN, collapsed in about a half-hour. In that case, the Saudis struck first, using the “ceasefire” as a chance to take a broad swathe of the port city of Aden in a surprise offensive.
Houthi officials were more skeptical about this second ceasefire after what happened in the first one, and seem to have remained on a combat footing into the announcement, anticipating another surprise. In both cases, the ceasefires were supposed to allow more humanitarian aid into the starving country, though the chances of this seem remote, with Saudi and allied-warship enforcing a naval blockade and allowing only a handful of UN ships through.
The Four Horsemen are riding.