The Houthi delegation left Sanaa late Thursday afternoon. She must ” continue consultations with the Saudi side “, declared for his part the chairman of the political council of the Houthi rebels, Mahdi al-Mashat, to the Saba news agency, controlled by the rebels. “ Peace was and remains our first option and everyone must work to achieve it “, he added.
Omani mediation efforts resumed in April 2023. The challenge is to obtain a new truce, or even a lasting ceasefire, between the Houthi rebels supported by Iran and Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government. . It was necessary the rapprochement between the two regional sponsors of the conflict thanks to Chinese efforts to revive hope.
From Sanaa, the capital under their control, the Houthis express the hope that this diplomatic advance gives rise to. “ We must first address the humanitarian crisis with the payment of salaries to all civil servants, the reopening of the airport and ports, the release of all prisoners, lists Mohammed Abdelsalam, the rebels’ chief negotiator, on rebel television Al Masirah. Next, the withdrawal of all foreign forces and the reconstruction of Yemen, before a comprehensive political settlement. »
Hope after eight years of war
These official talks between the rebels and Saudi Arabia are taking place at the same time as efforts under the auspices of the UN. Violence has largely decreased since a truce negotiated by the United Nations in April 2022 which expired in October 2022, but which is still roughly respected.
The war in Yemen has already left hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced and plunged the country into one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. 80% of the Yemeni population is today dependent on humanitarian aid. The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has been plunged for eight years into a war opposing the Houthi rebels, who control the capital Sanaa and other swaths of territory, to the government which is supported by a military coalition led by Riyadh.
(And with AFP)