Saudi Arabia, United Nations to broker peace in Yemen

A Yemeni man donates blood for the victims of airstrikes by the…

The Yemeni government has agreed to participate in UN-sponsored talks with rebels aimed at ending the country’s seven-month conflict, spokesman Rajeh Badi said Monday.

The United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, wrote on his Facebook page late on Sunday that, after talks with President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in Saudi Arabia, he had managed to persuade all the parties to attend a new round of talks in Geneva at the end of this month.

“Saudi Arabia, however, is sabotaging (the peace talks)”, Mohammad Abdul-Salam said in an interview with Yemen’s state television.

The remarks came as Yemen’s defenseless people have been under massive attacks by a coalition led by the Saudi regime for months.

The Houthis have previously said they would attend the discussions, but have yet to make a comment after the Yemeni government announcement.

Dujarric said Cheikh Ahmed will be in New York this week to brief the United Nations Security Council and meet with diplomats and other officials.

“The talks are a right step to end the Yemeni crisis”, the Saudi official was quoted as saying.

The planned talks haven’t changed the situation on the ground, where pro-government forces backed by the airstrikes and coalition ground forces are continuing to battle the Houthis and allied fighters loyal to a former president.

The Yemeni government has repeatedly linked its participation in any peace talks with the rebels to their acceptance of the resolution issued in April. “Coalition sources expect this front to flare up in the next few days with the aim of destroying three main positions for the Houthis and their allies”, the report said.

Shiite fighters, known as Houthis, hold their weapons during a demonstration against the Saudi-led coalition in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, October 18, 2015. A Sudanese battalion has arrived in the southern port city of Aden, Sudanese army spokesman Brig.

Around 4,500 civilians have been killed in the conflict since March.