Yemeni Ex-President Welcomes Truce in Country

Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said the United Nations should adopt a resolution on the permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of the "invading forces" from the country's territory.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh said on Tuesday that he welcomed the ceasefire in the war-torn country and called for UN measures to maintain it permanently.

Earlier this week, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that the warring sides to the conflict had agreed to start peace talks, without preliminary conditions, on December 15 in Switzerland. All the parties to the Yemeni conflict must introduce and maintain a ceasefire regime.

"We in the General People's Congress [party] welcome the call of the United Nations for an immediate end to…aggression against our country and people and internal fighting," Saleh wrote on his Facebook page.

He added that the United Nations should adopt a resolution on the permanent ceasefire and withdrawal of the "invading forces" from the country's territory.

Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels, who have been supported by army units loyal to Saleh. Since late March, a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against Houthi positions at the request of Hadi.