U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that Yemen's Houthi group and the Saudi-led coalition fighting it had agreed to a cease-fire from Thursday as Washington presses for an end to the war before President Barack Obama leaves office.
The internationally recognized Yemeni government quickly rejected the move, complaining of being bypassed. But it may have little choice if leaned on by Saudi Arabia, on which it depends both militarily and financially.
More than 10,000 people have been killed and over 3 million displaced in the past 20 months in a war that has been overshadowed by the Syria conflict but which has created a humanitarian catastrophe.