“There is an understanding over forming a neutral military committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire”, a source close to the government delegation said.
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On Thursday, a similar SMS cautioned “travellers to the desert areas to be careful not to go near the border”.
A Lebanese army general will oversee the ceasefire committee that includes representatives from the Saudi-backed government of Yemen’s President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and rebels from the Iran-backed Houthi movement tied to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Clashes have been common along the border with Saudi Arabia, where rebel strikes have killed more than 80 people since March when the coalition campaign in support of the government began.
Coalition officials said two ballistic missiles were launched on Friday from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia.
Yemeni peace talks in Switzerland have been halted after Houthi rebels suspended all meetings.
The pro-government forces seized the governmental compound and the military brigade near it in Yemen’s province of Jawf after fierce battles with the Houthi militants, local sources said on Friday.
In 2014, the Huthis advanced from their northern strongholds before occupying Sanaa in September of that year and forcing Hadi into exile in Saudi Arabia months later.
Although the alliance wants the Switzerland peace talks to succeed, “it will not adhere to the truce for long given the threat to the kingdom’s territory”, it said.
In mid-November of this year, Hadi returned to Yemen’s second city Aden, which he declared the provisional capital.
U.N. Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed voiced deep concern late on Friday, the fourth day of peace talks, at “numerous reports of violations of the cessation of hostilities” and set up a mechanism to strengthen compliance, a U.N. statement said.
“He urges all parties to respect this agreement and allow unhindered access for the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the most affected districts of Yemen”, the statement said. But fighting continued, with the coalition accusing the…
The United Nations-mediated talks began Tuesday in Geneva, coupled with an agreement for a weeklong truce that both sides pledged to observe.
Earlier today, the rebels agreed to release five high-profile prisoners, including the president’s brother and the defense minister, as a gesture of good will, two participants at the talks said.
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But the rebels still hold the capital and attempts by pro-Hadi forces to retake the strategic province of Taez have failed. More than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured since March.
