Children displaced from the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah stand in their shelter in Sanaa, Yemen November 1, 2018.
The Saudi-led coalition has ordered a halt in its offensive against Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels in Yemen's main port city of Hodeidah, three sources told Reuters on Thursday.
The decision came as key Western allies including the United States pressed for a ceasefire ahead of renewed U.N.-led peace efforts to end more than three years of war which have pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.
"The coalition has instructed forces on the ground to halt fighting inside Hodeidah," said one pro-coalition military source. Another military source backed by the coalition confirmed the order.
Two protesters were shot dead by government forces in eastern Yemen on Wednesday, according to a senior security official.Local residents staged a protest against a decision to erect a security checkpoint in Haswain, west of Mahra province, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media.He said the protest developed into an armed clash during which security forces opened fire, killing two and injuring four others, the official said.Turkish agency distributes aid in war-torn YemenMahra governor Rajeh Bakrit, for his part, said on Twitter the security checkpoint came under fire from “outlaws and traffickers”, backed by Houthi rebels.“They have been dealt with firmly,” he said, vowing to “strike with an iron fist against whoever tampers with security and stability of the homeland”.The government-controlled Mahra province has the longest coast in eastern Yemen with 560 kilometers on the Arabian Sea.Since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence and turmoil.EU: Civilians paying ultimate price in Yemen conflict
Two protesters shot dead in eastern Yemen
A third non-military source with knowledge of the decision said the coalition was responding to international requests for a ceasefire to ensure the Houthis attend planned peace talks.
A coalition spokesman did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
U.N. special envoy Martin Griffiths is trying to salvage talks between the warring Yemeni parties after the last round in September collapsed when the Houthis did not show up.
The Sunni Muslim coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates intervened in Yemen's war in 2015 to restore the internationally recognized government ousted by the Houthi movement in 2014.
The alliance relies on Western arms and intelligence in the conflict, seen as a proxy war between Riyadh and Tehran, which has killed more than 10,000 people.
A group of illegal migrants, mainly from Yemen and Palestine, suffered mistreatment at the hands of Greek border guards who beat them violently. The group crossed illegally from Turkey to Greek territories, which is a common route for illegal migrants fleeing troubled regions in the Middle East. Greek border guards then sent them to Turkey by forcing them to swim across the Meriç River after stripping them of their clothes and belongings.Upon seeing the dire state of the migrants, villagers from a Turkish border town brought them clothes and coffee to fend off the cold. “There were scars and beating marks on their backs and all over their bodies,” said the village headman of Uzunköprü in the western province of Edirne. The headman said the migrants later left accompanied by members of Turkey’s Gendarmerie after the villagers had notified them of the incident.Nearly 230 irregular migrants held across Turkey
Greek border guards strip, beat Yemeni, Palestinian migrants
A Turkish humanitarian group on Tuesday said it provided aid to thousands of civilians in war-torn Yemen.According to a statement by the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), food aid was distributed to 13,255 civilians in western Wosab and Tihama regions.The statement said around 21 million people in Yemen are dependent on aid, while 9.8 million are facing starvation.Noting that health services cannot be provided in the country, it said that people cannot survive without external aid.The humanitarian group said another 6,000 civilians in the region will receive food aid in the upcoming days. Since the beginning of 2018, IHH helped a total of 198,556 civilians, including orphans, in Yemen by providing health care and food aid, the statement said.Turkish institutions and non-governmental organizations such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, Turkish Red Crescent, Turkiye Diyanet Foundation, and the IHH are continuing to provide humanitarian aid to the war-torn country.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
Turkish agency distributes aid in war-torn Yemen
Yemeni civilians caught in the crossfire in a port city are bearing the terrible brunt of the escalating conflict, said the EU on Monday.The attacks around the city and port of Al-Hudaydah in West Yemen increased in recent days, and civilians in the crossfire are paying the ultimate price for the conflict once again, said a statement from the office of EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.It said that the attacks targeted civilian infrastructure, thus violating international humanitarian law."Cutting off access into and from Al-Hudaydah will push even more Yemenis to the brink of starvation, as the supply of basic commodities is disrupted," said the statement, adding that Yemen now has 22 million people who need assistance and 14 million on the brink of famine.The office also said that affected civilians should be given basic commodities such as fuel, food and medicines, and the EU is backing the UN-led negotiation process.Last week, Yemeni government forces launched a fresh military operation to retake Al-Hudaydah -- and its two strategic seaports -- from rebel Houthis.Al-Hudaydah receives roughly 70 percent of the commercial imports and humanitarian aid entering the country.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
EU: Civilians paying ultimate price in Yemen conflict
Government forces have advanced into a major district in Yemen’s port city of Al-Hudaydah, according to a Yemeni military officer on Monday.The forces stormed al-Rabsa district and seized a number of buildings there, Army Colonel Ahmed al-Ajeili was quoted as saying by the military-run September 26 website.“Our forces are advancing deep into Al-Hudaydah amid fierce clashes with Houthi rebels,” he said.The military officer said the attack has caused casualties among the rebels, but without elaborating.There was no comment from the Shia Houthi group on the claim.Last week, Yemeni government forces launched a new military operation as a resume to the campaign which began in mid-2018 to retake the western city and its strategic two seaports from Houthis.Impoverished Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa.The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies launched a devastating air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.Yemeni rebel minister defects to Saudi ArabiaUN calls for ‘immediate steps’ to end crisis in YemenYemeni forces arrest Daesh cell in Lahij
Yemeni army advances into Al-Hudaydah amid clashes