RIYADH —
Gulf Arab countries are seeking to host rare talks between Yemen’s warring
parties, including the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, in Riyadh at the end of the
month, officials said on Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
Yemen, the
Arab world’s poorest country, has been wracked by a devastating war since 2014,
pitting the Houthis against the internationally recognized government.
Repeated diplomatic
efforts to get the two sides to agree a peace deal have failed over the years.
The GCC “is
considering holding talks between Yemen’s warring parties to put an end to the
conflict,” an official from the six-nation bloc, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, said on Tuesday.
An official from
the Saudi-backed
Yemeni government, which has been embroiled in a seven-year
conflict with the Houthis, said the conference would take place between March
29 and April 7.
“We don’t have a
problem if the Houthis attend the talks to try to find a solution to security,
military, and political issues,” the official told AFP.
But he added it was
unlikely the Houthis would accept the invitation to go to Riyadh, which has
been leading a military coalition to back the government against the rebels
since 2015.
Another official in
Riyadh confirmed efforts for talks were underway, saying: “Saudi Arabia will
not be party to negotiations.”
Efforts would be
led by Oman, which hosts Houthi officials and has regularly played the role of
mediator in regional conflicts.
A Houthi spokesman
told AFP the rebels had yet to receive an invitation.
“Saudi Arabia wants
to present itself as a neutral country ... but this call (for talks) is for
media attention, nothing serious,” he said, without confirming whether or not
they would take part.
The talks are
scheduled to take place as the Saudi-led coalition marks seven years since its
intervention in the Yemen war on March 26, 2015 — shortly after the rebels
seized the capital Sanaa.
Famine conditions
Riyadh has repeatedly called on the US administration to redesignate the
Houthis as a terrorist organization.
The grinding war
has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, directly or indirectly, and displaced
millions, in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Around 80 percent
of Yemen’s population of nearly 30 million depend on some form of aid for
survival.
On Monday,
UN agencies
warned the number of people in the country starving in famine conditions is
projected to increase fivefold this year to 161,000 amid fears of a dire
shortfall of life-saving aid.
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