Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh stressed on Tuesday that no seventh war will take place in the impoverished country’s tense north between the Sanaa government and Houthi rebels.

“There are no indicators for a seventh war,” Saleh told a news conference, saying that would be “totally unacceptable.” The sixth war with the rebels, known as Houthis — who complain of political, social and religious marginalization —- erupted last August.

Thousands have been killed in the conflict that first began in 2004 and ended in a February truce. The Houthis will “start Wednesday” implementing the six-point truce “including the withdrawal from cities” currently under their control and “will hand everything over to local authorities,” the president said.

Despite a complementary agreement reached in late June to revive the peace accord, the shadow of war has loomed in the country’s north as both sides exchanged blames over breaching February’s truce.