Rivals trade blame of truce violations

Yemen's warring parties yesterday traded accusations of violating a ceasefire agreement, three days after it went into effect at the start of Ramadan. 

The internationally recognised government, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Huthi rebels have been locked in a violent power struggle since 2014, when the insurgents seized the capital Sanaa.

But a two-month truce that started on Saturday -- the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan -- has offered a glimmer of hope in the conflict considered the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Yemen's foreign minister, Ahmed bin Mubarak, in a Twitter post accused the Huthis of ceasefire violations. While the insurgents did not directly respond to the claims, their media channels also reported alleged "breaches", but by pro-government troops, on Sunday and Monday.

Under the latest ceasefire agreement brokered by the UN, all ground, air and naval military operations, including cross-border attacks, are meant to cease. The civil war has killed hundreds of thousands, according to UN figures, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.