Trump says US will halt bombing of Yemen in surprise announcement
President Donald Trump says the US will halt its bombing campaign in Yemen, claiming that the Yemenis have told his administration that they no longer want to “fight.”
Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House alongside Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, said they have not reached any deal with Yemen.
The Yemenis, Trump added, have told Washington they would halt attacks on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea in return for a halt to US attacks.
“They just don’t want to fight. And we will honor that, and we will, we will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated, but more importantly, we will take their word, they say they will not be blowing up ships anymore,” he said, calling the development “very positive.”
The US president also said he will have a “very big announcement” before his upcoming West Asia visit, which will take him to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Yemenis have yet to comment on the Trump announcement.
The US has been striking Yemen on a near-daily basis for the past months, killing hundreds of people in the Arab country.
The Yemenis have launched counterattacks on American warships in the Red Sea and other seas in the region.
Those attacks led to the downing of an American F-18 jet late last month.
