Diplomatic push yields fruit in Yemen crisis
Diplomatic efforts appeared to have eased fighting in Yemen's Hodeida yesterday, as Britain said the Saudi-led coalition had agreed to the evacuation of wounded rebels from the country ahead of proposed peace talks in Sweden.
After nearly four years of conflict in Yemen, home to what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian catastrophe, the United States and Britain are now pressing Saudi Arabia and its allies to end the war against the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
The office of British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the Saudi-led alliance fighting on the side of the government had agreed to the evacuation of up to 50 wounded Huthi fighters to Oman following Hunt's visit to Riyadh.
The move comes ahead of another proposed round of peace talks in Sweden later this month, Hunt's office said.
Clashes between Saudi-backed troops and rebels in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida abated yesterday, after nearly two weeks of fighting which left nearly 600 people dead, including civilians.
But a spokesman for the Huthis yesterday said the rebels were ready for "war in the streets" of rebel-held Hodeida.
Residents in Hodeida, whose port is vital for food imports and humanitarian aid for millions at risk of starvation, say they now fear a siege on the city, where exit routes are being blocked and hospitals seized by armed fighters.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned the destruction of the port could trigger a "catastrophic" situation in a country where 14 million people are at risk of starvation.
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