Nov. 18: Hopes of a Cease-Fire Are Quickly Dashed

Hopes for a new cease-fire effort in Yemen arose earlier this week after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's two-day visit to Oman, but they were quickly dashed. Given the heavy fighting still raging in Yemen and the disagreements among members of the Saudi-led coalition backing embattled President Abd Rabboh Mansour Hadi, the failure of the renewed push for peace was hardly surprising. Kerry announced Nov. 15 that representatives of the Houthi alliance fighting to supplant Hadi had agreed, after an hourslong meeting, to a cease-fire and to join a national dialogue working toward a unity government. But the tentative step toward a cease-fire, reported by the media at midnight on Nov. 17, came and went without a notable pause in the violence....