Saudis Announce End to Yemen Ceasefire

Airstrikes Never Halted Throughout Nine Day 'Truce'

After nine days of more or less constant airstrikes against targets inside Yemen, Saudi Arabia announced today that they are abandoning their “ceasefire” in Yemen, and that it is because the Shi’ite Houthis are violating the terms.

The ceasefire was initially meant to facilitate peace talks, though fighting never really slowed down, and indeed Saudi-backed forces occupied several cities over the course of the nine day period. The peace talks ended without any real progress.

It is unclear what, if any, differences there will be in the Yemen war without the ceasefire, though it will likely mean that the Saudis won’t feel the need to publicly blame the Houthis every time they unilaterally launch an airstrike on a city.

In talking up the Houthi violations, the Saudis cited missiles fired from Yemen into Saudi territory. Such strikes have happened off and on throughout the war, killing a handful of people.

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.