SANAA, Yemen, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- The cease-fire between the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels is encouraging, though the international community could do more, U.N. officials said.
A cease-fire agreement sputtered through the weekend, marking the first tentative halt to fighting since the Yemeni government launched a major offensive against Houthi rebels in August.
"UNHCR is encouraged by the first and so far lasting cease-fire between Yemeni troops and the Houthi movement in northern Yemen since August 2009, when the 6-year old conflict reignited," the refugee agency announced Tuesday.
International aid agencies warned of a pending humanitarian disaster as the conflict in north Yemen intensified.
Melissa Fleming, spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said the United Nations was optimistic about the durability of the cease-fire agreement but stressed the international support for Yemen was abysmal.
"Displaced Yemenis and refugees in Yemen are in urgent need of international assistance and we especially hope that the countries in the region will act in their usual spirit of solidarity," she said.
Meanwhile, the Yemen Observer reports that al-Qaida affiliates are ramping up attacks against security forces in the south of the country.
Yemen is struggling with poverty, a Houthi rebellion, a secessionist movement in the south and a growing presence of al-Qaida fighters.
