WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed the extension of a truce in war-battered Yemen and urged permanent peace.

“The parties to the conflict have now extended this truce for another two months, and it’s important that we work from here to make it permanent,” Biden said in a statement.

“I urge all parties to move expeditiously towards a comprehensive and inclusive peace process. Our diplomacy will not rest until a permanent settlement is in place,” he said.

The Biden administration had been discussing a truce extension with Saudi Arabia, which has come under fire in Washington for its human rights record including in its air campaign in Yemen.

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The diplomacy came amid expectations that progress in Yemen would help persuade Biden to visit Saudi Arabia later this month, a trip that would be controversial among some in his Democratic Party.

Biden took office in January 2021 vowing greater efforts to end the brutal war between the Saudi-backed government and Iranian-affiliated Huthi rebels, including by scaling back support for the Saudi air campaign.

Despite shuttle diplomacy by a State Department envoy, Tom Lenderking, the Huthis until the UN-brokered truce had extended their offensive.

The war that broke out in 2016 has killed hundreds of thousands of people and left millions on the brink of famine.