While talking up their willingness to continue waging a protracted war if necessary, Yemen’s new leadership council, which earlier this month replaced President Hadi, clearly understands that’s not what’s expected of it.
“Our first option is peace,” noted Abdullah al-Alimi, a former Hadi chief of staff who is on the eight-man leadership council. He said the council is willing to “leave personal and partisan interests behind in pursuit of peace.”
The Saudi coalition is reportedly very interested in efforts toward a permanent ceasefire, and this is a big part of why they pressured Hadi to step down and appoint the council to take over.
The council is expected to meet with UN officials later this week on the peace process, with those UN figures fresh off a visit to Sanaa to consult the Houthis. With the ceasefire going relatively well, there may be interest in trying to expand it further.
Well this is a hopeful development.