A Saudi-led coalition that has been bombing the Houthi movement in Yemen for nine months announced on Saturday the end of a ceasefire that began on Dec. 15, the Saudi state news agency SPA said, in a setback to attempts to end the conflict.<br />The ceasefire began in tandem with peace talks sponsored by the United Nations, but it was repeatedly violated by both sides.<br />Nearly 6,000 people have been killed since the Saudi coalition entered the conflict in March, almost half of them civilians.<br />"The leadership of the coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen announces the end of the truce in Yemen beginning at 1400 (1100 GMT) on Saturday," the agency said.<br />"The coalition has been and still is keen to create the right conditions to find a peaceful solution," the statement said.<br />But the ceasefire could not be maintained because of "the continuation of the Houthi militias and Saleh forces in violating it."
