After years of devastating conflict, the UN sees an opportunity to end the war. But the risks of deterioration remain
Hope has been hard to find in Yemen. After more than eight years of war, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, many of them civilians, the situation is desperate. More than two-thirds of the population are dependent on humanitarian aid. Yet, since the agreement of a truce between the Saudi-led military coalition and Iran-backed Houthi rebels last April, the country has seen a year of relative calm. This month, there was a huge cross-border exchange of prisoners of war. In the background is the thaw between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have used Yemen as the battleground for their rivalry.
Riyadh spearheaded the coalition supporting the internationally recognised government led by Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi, which had been ousted by the Houthis. It soon discovered that there would be no speedy victory, that the conflict was draining billions from its coffers and that Houthi attacks on its oil infrastructure were increasing the expense. The Houthis also had reason to talk, having suffered heavy losses and struggling with fuel shortages.
