The Yemeni government and dissident General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar signed a ceasefire on Tuesday, with both sides agreeing to release people kidnapped during months of protests that have pushed the Arabian Peninsula country to the brink of civil war, a government official said.

The official said the deal between the government of President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Mohsen was mediated by a local committee chaired by Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Several previous ceasefire accords have failed to hold. The latest agreement comes four days after a United Nations Security Council resolution condemned the violence in Yemen and urged Saleh to sign a Gulf-brokered initiative that would see him leave office.