Saudi Arabia announced on Friday that a five-day ceasefire in Yemen will start on May 12. The statement was made by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State John Kerry after talks in Paris. "We have made a decision that the ceasefire will begin this Tuesday, May 12, at 11.00 pm and will last for five days subject to renewal if it works out," Al Jubeir said. But Kerry warned that any ceasefire would be conditional on the Houthis not using the time to move and reposition its forces, not to fire in anger or use this as anything other than a chance for humanitarian efforts. He said that while the Saudis would not respond to small accidental incidents where the message of a ceasefire might not have reached, this would not be extended to big actions that could be seen as a breach of a ceasefire. Al-Jubeir said the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen is ready to halt airstrikes if Houthis cooperate. Meanwhile, Kerry said the ceasefire in Yemen “is not peace” and conflicting parties in the war-torn country need to find a political solution to end crisis. The US top diplomat also said there were “some indications but no certainty” that Houthis will accept the truce. The announcement in Paris came hours after the Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes in Yemen declared a rebel stronghold along the kingdom's border a "military target" and gave residents an ultimatum to leave the region by nightfall. — Al Arabiya
