Beginning at the start of April alongside Ramadan, the Yemen ceasefire has seen a hugely successful drop in the number of airstrikes and casualties. Humanitarian aid shipments are on the rise, and things are generally improving after seven years of war.
It was a two month ceasefire, and six weeks in there are just two weeks left. What happens then is of concern, but UN envoy Hans Grundberg is reporting that talks are already ongoing about the possibility of extending it beyond the end of May.
Two months of ceasefire was seen as really unlikely, and despite some claims of violations it is a testament to the success that an extension is now being negotiated. Continued calm and a step toward a permanent peace process seem like realistic possibilities.
Details on a peace process are still scant, but that they are realistic at all seems like a cause for hope. After years of fighting any deal is going to take time, but an extended truce could give the warring parties that time.
No bombing, shipping allowed into Yemen. This is what the Houthis wanted in 2014. Is the U.S. govt too distracted to get in the way of this?