The United Nations said Yemen's warring parties have agreed to renew an existing truce for another two months after concerted international efforts.
The already 4-month-old cease-fire has been the longest nationwide ease in fighting since the war began in the Arab world's poorest country nearly eight years ago.
The UN envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg said in a statement that the country's internationally recognised government and the Houthi rebels had also agreed to try to arrive at “an expanded truce agreement as soon as possible” on Tuesday.
Yemen's civil war erupted in 2014, when the Houthis descended from their northern enclave and took over the capital, forcing the government to flee to the south before its exile in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi-led coalition — then backed by the United Sates — entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power. Since then, the conflict has turned into a proxy war between regional foes Saudi Arabia and Iran, which backs the Houthis.
The truce renewal announcement came hours after an Omani delegation concluded three days of talks with the Houthi leadership, including with the rebels' chief Abdel-Malek al-Houthi in the capital of Sanaa.
After the announcement, Mohammed Abdel-Salam, the Houthi chief negotiator and spokesman, thanked Oman for its efforts and called for the UN to work to open the airport in Sanaa, and the key port of Hodeida in a tweet.
