Ceasefire is over

RIYADH --- The Saudi-led coalition fighting to defend the legitimate Yemeni government has announced the end to a ceasefire that began on December 15 but was repeatedly violated by the rebel Houthi militia and forces loyal to now-ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In a statement carried by the Saudi state news agency SPA, the command of the coalition said, "The command of the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen announces the end of the truce in Yemen beginning at 1400 hours local time on Saturday."

"The command of the coalition has always been taking great interest in looking for favourable circumstances to find a peaceful solution to the issue in Yemen and empower the legitimate Yemeni government to restore security and stability to Yemen, and that is why it had agreed to the truce, requested by Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and then extended, but has always been violated by the Houthi-Saleh militias," the statement said.

It added, "The Houthi-Saleh militias repeatedly violated the truce by launching ballistic missiles towards Saudi cities and border guard centres, blocking relief and medical aid from reaching Yemenis, seizing food and medical aid shipments, shelling residential areas and arresting Yemeni citizens in Yemeni cities under their control."

The statement continued, "All these acts prove that these militias and their affiliates are not serious and continue to be unconcerned about the lives of civilians, which clearly shows their continuous attempts to take advantage of the truce to make gains. Based on this, the command of the coalition announces the end of the truce in Yemen starting from 1400 local time, today."

On Friday, the Royal Saudi Air Defense destroyed a Scud-type ballistic missile fired from Yemen toward the City of Abha, southwest Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-led coalition command announced.

The Royal Saudi Air Force immediately destroyed the rocket launch platform located inside Yemen.

The Scud missile was shot down with no collateral damage.