UNITED NATIONS — Yemen's president is proposing a 15-day ceasefire that would coincide with the withdrawal of Shiite rebel militias from all government institutions and military installations and all cities and provinces. President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi's proposal, obtained Friday by The Associated Press, was given to the UN envoy for Yemen on Thursday. Yemen's government has expressed support for a ceasefire in the past, but this might be its first formal proposal for one. The proposal, dated Thursday, calls for the Houthi rebels and allied troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh to immediately implement a UN Security Council resolution which demands an end to violence and a swift return to UN-led peace talks. Hadi's proposal comes after pro-government troops, backed by a Saudi-led coalition carrying out airstrikes, regained strategic ground from the rebels, including the southern port of Aden. They now push north toward the capital, Sanaa. Hadi's proposal would commit both sides to a 15-day ceasefire that could be extended “in conjunction with the withdrawal of the Houthi-Saleh militias from military and civil institutions of the state, all cities and provinces including Sanaa and Saadah.” Both sides also would agree to allow UN military observers to monitor implementation of the withdrawal, the return of heavy and medium weapons to the government and the demobilization of child soldiers. “If the truce is breached by the Houthi-Saleh militias, it will be dealt with firmly,” the proposal says. It also calls for activation of UN sanctions, which include an arms embargo on Houthi leaders, Saleh and his son. The proposed agreement also would order Houthi militias not to interfere in the delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid. — AP
