White House welcomes Saudi halt to Yemen air war

Washington: The White House welcomed Saudi Arabia´s decision to halt air strikes in Yemen on Tuesday and urged talks to end a crisis that threatened to draw regional powers into direct conflict.

"The United States welcomes today´s announcement by the government of Saudi Arabia and its coalition partners of the conclusion of Operation Decisive Storm in Yemen," National Security Council spokesman Alistair Baskey told AFP.

"We continue to support the resumption of a UN-facilitated political process and the facilitation of humanitarian assistance."

A Saudi-led coalition earlier declared it was ending four weeks of air strikes, saying the threat of rebels there had been removed and that operations are entering a political phase.

The White House has accused Tehran of supplying weapons to a Huthi militia that has wrested control of much of the country from forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

According to the United Nations, 900 people have been killed in Yemen since late March, when the air strikes began. (AFP)