US calls for immediate ceasefire in Yemen

The United States on Monday called on parties in Yemen to bring a halt to the fighting as soon as possible and finalize an agreement through the UN-facilitated process.

In a statement issued by the White House, Ned Price, spokesperson for the National Security Council, strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the army recruitment center in Aden, Yemen.

The suicide bombing that targeted an army recruiting compound in Aden on Monday morning has left at least 65 people killed and 55 injured. The Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"The restoration of stability in Yemen is vital to prevent groups like al-Qaida and ISIL (IS), which has claimed responsibility for the attack, from taking further steps to exploit the political and security vacuum in the country," Price said.

Yemen, an impoverished Arab country, has been gripped by one of the most active insurgencies in the Middle East.

Militant extremists took advantage of the current security vacuum and the ongoing civil war to expand its influence and seize more territories in southern Yemen.

Security in Yemen has deteriorated since March 2015, when war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

More than 6,400 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians.

Source : XINHUA