In Yemen, a Ray of Light Amid a War’s Darkness
A UN-backed ceasefire offers the possibility of respite for millions in war-ravaged Yemen
By Ishaan Tharoor
Millions of Yemenis received a lifeline Thursday. After a week of U.N.-brokered talks in a town outside Stockholm, two of the major parties in the country’s ruinous war agreed to a cease-fire over the strategic port of Hodeida. The move was hailed as a major breakthrough in the grim conflict, which has raged for four years, caused the collapse of the already impoverished nation’s economy and precipitated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Under the deal hatched in Sweden, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and forces fighting for the country’s Saudi-backed government will withdraw from Hodeida, hopefully allowing for vital aid to be moved through to the rest of the country. The two sides also agreed to a prisoner swap involving thousands of fighters, the creation of a humanitarian corridor around the besieged city of Taiz, and on a framework for future talks, which may resume as early as next month.
“The agreements today mean a lot, not only for the Yemeni people but for humanity if this can be a starting point for peace and for ending the humanitarian crisis in Yemen,” António Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said as…
