Saudi Arabian military has stopped its more-than-two months old fight against Yemeni rebels along the two countries' border, after the latter retreated from Saudi territory in exchange for a ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia's deputy defense minister Prince Khaled bin Sultan told reporters Wednesday that his government would agree to the rebels' offer of a ceasefire if they would agree to back out by 10 kilometers south of border, and to return 6 Saudi prisoners.
If these conditions are agreeable to rebels, known as Houthis, Riyadh would henceforth view Yemen's conflict with them as that country's internal matter, he added.
However, he accused Iran of arming the rebels in their six-year-old campaign against the Yemeni government, citing the kind of weaponry they had used against Saudi forces.
Saudi warplanes have been bombarding targets inside Yemen and along the border since November in retaliation against the rebels, who fought their way across the border into Saudi Arabia, and killed several Saudi soldiers.
It is estimated that at least 82 Saudi soldiers had died in the fighting.
Fighting between Yemeni government forces and the rebels in Saada province, bordering Saudi Arabia, entered sixth month with no prospect for a ceasefire.
Yemen, one of the poorest Arab countries dominated by Sunni Muslims, is under the threat of rising secessionist sentiment in the south and tribal Shiite rebellion in the north in addition to a wave of al Qaeda attacks.
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