Peace in Yemen as five-day ceasefire starts

Saudi Arabia confirmed that the truce had begun on schedule, while residents were cautiously optimistic that peace would hold.

The new UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (C), arrives in Sanaa on May 12, 2015. Yahya Arhab/EPA

Sanaa // A five-day humanitarian truce took effect in Yemen at midnight on Tuesday night, halting almost seven weeks of airstrikes by an Arab coalition against Houthi rebels.
Saudi Arabia, which is leading the military campaign, proposed the ceasefire to allow deliveries of desperately needed relief supplies.
Coalition spokesman Brig Gen Ahmed Al Assiri confirmed it had begun on schedule but warned the alliance would continue its "intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance" in case it has to respond. "We will be ready to react to any violation."
In Sanaa the atmosphere was calm and residents were cautiously optimistic. Saleem Al Areqi, 28, a civil engineer, said: "We all hope the ceasefire will last."
Another Sanaa resident, Tareq Al Zarqa, 32, said: "I am extremely happy the ceasefire was announced, because I will marry tomorrow and hopefully there will be peace."
Meanwhile, residents also reported a calm atmosphere in the southern city of Aden and the southwestern city of Taez.
Ryad Aladeeb, who lives in Taez, said "nothing had been heard or witnessed [there] since the ceasefire began".
The Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have promised to respond "positively" to the truce, and allied fighters loyal to the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh have accepted the ceasefire.
However, the Shiite rebels had bombarded the area along the Saudi border until the very last minute, the Saudi-owned television network Al Arabiya said.
Hours before the truce took effect, the newly appointed UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, arrived in Sanaa. "We are convinced that dialogue is the only way to solve the Yemeni problem," he said.
The aerial campaign launched on March 26 aimed to restore the authority of the exiled president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, who fled to Riyadh as the rebels closed in on his refuge in Aden.
Houthis, from Yemen's mountainous north near the border with Saudi Arabia, overran Sanaa in September and extended their control to other regions.
Riyadh has repeatedly accused Iran of arming and funding the rebels.
The ceasefire has strong backing from Washington, which has said it could be extended.
The United Nations has expressed concern about the civilian death toll from the fighting with more than 1,500 people killed since late March.
Also on Tuesday, the coalition denied rebel claims they had brought down a Moroccan F-16 warplane, which crashed in Yemen on Sunday.
"We are definitely sure it wasn't shot down," said Brig Al Assiri.
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* Additional reporting from Agence France-Presse and Reuters