US calls for ceasefire
♦ Saudi coalition sends more troops toward rebel-held port city
♦ Pompeo calls for an end to all air strikes
The United States called Tuesday for a ceasefire and peace talks in Yemen, as the Saudi-led military coalition sent more than 10,000 new troops toward a vital rebel-held port city ahead of a new assault.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said the US had been watching the conflict "for long enough," adding that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are in a US-backed coalition fighting Shia Huthi rebels, are ready for talks.
"We have got to move toward a peace effort here, and we can't say we are going to do it some time in the future," Mattis said at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.
"We need to be doing this in the next 30 days."
He said the US is calling for all warring parties to meet with United Nations special envoy Martin Griffiths in Sweden in November and "come to a solution.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called for an end to all coalition air strikes in Yemen's populated areas.
"The time is now for the cessation of hostilities," Pompeo said in a statement.
The US call got backing from British Prime Minister Theresa May.
“We certainly ... back the US's call for de-escalation in Yemen," May told parliament yesterday.
US-Saudi ties have cooled in recent weeks after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict between embattled Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose government is recognized by the United Nations, and the Huthis in 2015. Nearly 10,000 people have since been killed and the country now stands at the brink of famine.
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