What’s behind the Saudi ceasefire proposal in Yemen?

Ceasefire agreements between Houthis and Saudi coalition have rarely held up in deadlocked six-year conflict in Yemen.

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, which has been battling a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition since March 2015, rejected Riyadh’s latest ceasefire initiative, demanding the complete lifting of the blockade on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port. The Iran-aligned group controls a large part of Yemen’s north, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeidah port – considered a lifeline for millions of Yemenis affected by the six-year-old war. Rights groups have criticised Saudi Arabia’s naval and air blockade on Yemen saying it has exacerbated the humanitarian situation in Yemen where 80 percent of the population survives on foreign aid.