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BEIRUT – Saudi Arabia has decided to impose a partial ceasefire in Yemen, say people familiar with these plans, while Riyadh and Houthi militants fighting in the kingdom are trying to end the Four-year war that has become a front line in the wider regional conflict with Iran.
Saudi Arabia's decision follows Houthi forces' surprise decision to declare a unilateral ceasefire in Yemen last week, just days after claiming responsibility for drone and cruise missile strike on the Saudi oil industry. While the Houthis fired two missiles at Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Saudi leaders did not see the strike as a serious attack that could undermine ceasefire efforts.
Houthi leaders initially declared that they were responsible for the attack on the oil facilities, but Saudi, US and European officials dismissed the charges, saying it was safe. was a transparent attempt to conceal the role of Iran in the strike. These fighters say that Yemeni fighters have neither the weapons nor the skills to carry out such a sophisticated strike.
In the days following the attack, an internal fracture between the Houthis has spread between those who want to stand out from Iran and those who wish to strengthen their bonds.
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Some Houthi leaders have privately disavowed the group's claim of responsibility for the Sept. 14 attack, according to two Saudi officials who have asked not to be identified. And Houthi officials told foreign diplomats that Iran was planning a subsequent attack, said one of those officials and others familiar with the plans.
Official Houthi spokesmen rejected any suggestion that they disavowed their original claim or warned Riyadh against future Iranian strikes. The group did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.
The war in Yemen has become a political and military quagmire for Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman,
de facto leader of the country and original architect of the war plans. The war has eroded support for his country in Washington, where bipartisan opposition to the conflict has solidified.
The unilateral ceasefire of the Houthis last week gave rise in Riyadh and Washington to the hope that Yemeni fighters would be willing to distance themselves from Tehran. The United States has accused Iran of providing the Houthis with missiles, drones and training that they have used for years to target Saudi Arabia. Iran has rejected the accusations, but Tehran has begun to deepen its ties with the Houthi forces.
In response to the Houthi movement, Riyadh has agreed to implement a limited ceasefire in four regions, including San'a, controlled by Houthi forces in the Yemeni capital since 2014.
If the mutual cease-fire in these areas materializes, the Saudis would seek to extend the truce to other parts of Yemen, according to people familiar with the talks.
The new cease-fire faces high probabilities, as similar arrangements have already collapsed. The two sides continue to carry out attacks, including a Saudi air strike north of San'a on Tuesday that claimed the lives of several civilians. The internal divisions of the Houthis could undermine peace efforts, as in the past.
"Yemen must break out of this vicious circle of violence and be protected from recent tensions in the region, which could jeopardize its prospects for peace," he said.
Martin Griffiths,
the United Kingdom's special envoy for Yemen, who led the peace talks last December in Stockholm, which helped defuse tensions and pave the way for new diplomatic initiatives.
Saudi Arabia is accused of conducting unpredictable air strikes that killed thousands of civilians. Yemen is home to what the UN calls the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. Millions are on the verge of starvation and cholera remains a constant danger. According to the whereabouts and events data project of the armed conflict, a non-profit organization that monitors violence around the world, nearly 100,000 people have died since the Houthis took San'a.
The United States, Saudi Arabia's main ally in the fight, withdrew most of their forces from Yemen at the beginning of the year, causing friction between the two countries.
Write to Dion Nissenbaum at [email protected]
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