Middle East & Africa | Desperate to leave

Saudi Arabia is struggling to end its war in Yemen

The kingdom knows it cannot win. So does the enemy

|DUBAI

SIX YEARS have passed since Saudi Arabia declared victory in what it dubbed Operation Decisive Storm, the opening salvo of its war in Yemen. Yet the kingdom is still trying to find its way out of the squall. On March 22nd it offered a ceasefire to its opponent, the Houthis, a Shia militant group that seized control of the Yemeni government (and much of the country) in 2015. The Saudi proposal called for a nationwide truce and offered to ease the air and sea blockade it has imposed on Houthi-controlled territory. “We want the guns to fall totally silent,” said Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the foreign minister.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Smoke and no ceasefire”

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