Special to WorldTribune.com

CAIRO — Yemen has reached a ceasefire with Shi’ite rebels.

A government statement said the Yemen Army and Shi’ite rebels agreed to a ceasefire on June 4 in the northern province of Amran.

The statement said the agreement called for a ban on reinforcements on both sides in Amran.

“It stipulated an end to all military reinforcements from both sides, deployment of impartial military monitors and the opening of the main road to the capital Sanaa,” Yemen’s official Saba news agency said.

[On June 5, at least 12 Yemeni soldiers were killed in an Al Qaida attack at an army checkpoint in the southern province of Shabwa. The attack took place amid a U.S.-directed Yemeni offensive against Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula in the south.]

The statement said the ceasefire was arranged through mediation by United Nations envoy Jamal Benomar. The agreement was also said to include the deployment of 30 monitors.

“Thirty observers were sent to Amran and began work to monitor the
commitment by all sides under the third clause of the agreement,” Saba said.

At least 500 people have been killed in fighting between the Yemeni
military and the Shi’ite rebels, said backed by Iran.

Over the last week,
the Yemen Air Force intensified strikes on positions of the rebel movement,
called Al Houthi. The military has been aided by Al Qaida-aligned fighters
from the Islah Party.

In February 2014, Al Houthi captured large areas of Amran as the rebels
expanded operations in northern Yemen. Officials said the rebels have sought
to control Yemen’s northern border with Saudi Arabia.

  Al Houthi, Amran province, Shi’ite rebels, Yemen reaches ceasefire with Shi’ites as U.S.-backed fight with Al Qaida heats up