Yemen’s Shiite Houthi rebels made it clear they were ready to negotiate an end to the armed conflict that has raged since 2014 during a meeting with representatives from the governments of Oman, which has taken on a mediating role, and Saudi Arabia, which has formed a military alliance. and intervened in the war in March 2015 on the side of the internationally recognized government.

During the meeting, Mahdi al-Massat, head of Ansar Allah’s top political council, the Houthis, called for a “just and fair world,” according to the rebel-controlled SABA news agency.

According to the same source, delegations from Saudi Arabia and Oman have been in the Yemeni capital since Saturday. The agency added that the goal is to renew the truce originally agreed last year and hold peace talks.

The Riyadh delegation is led by Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed al-Jaber, who was personally received by Mr. Massat, SABA and Houthi Al-Masira TV reported. The latter broadcast footage of the two men shaking hands.

The Saudi authorities have not commented on the rebels’ statement, at least not yet.

Like almost all of northern Yemen – with the sole exception of the province of Marib – Sana’a is in the hands of the Houthis, who are considered close to Iran. The military alliance led by Saudi Arabia has not been able to fight back.

But as Saudi Arabia has been trying for months to end the stalemate in Yemen, the recent thaw in relations between the Sunni kingdom and its arch-rival in the region, Shiite Iran, has fueled hopes for a de-escalation of tensions. conflicts in the Middle East. especially in Yemen.

Humanitarian tragedy

A fragile ceasefire was agreed between the Houthis and the government in April 2022. Fighting flared up again after it ended in October, but did not become massive, remaining sporadic.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grudberg has been trying for months to renew the ceasefire and make progress in peace talks, but so far to no avail.

The UN emphasizes that Yemen is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian tragedies in the world. Last month, UNICEF announced that in the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country, “a child dies from preventable causes every ten minutes,” while millions of children risk severe acute malnutrition.

The war has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Yemen, directly or indirectly, while millions of people have been forced to flee their homes. More than 11,000 children were killed or maimed from 2015 to 2022, according to UNICEF.

According to APE-MPE, AFP