A rare Saudi delegation is in Sanaa to broker a lasting truce and discuss the peace process with Yemen’s Houthi rebels, after eight years of war and amid regional detente, Yemeni diplomatic sources said on Sunday.
Saudi officials, whose identity has not been revealed, came “to discuss ways to move forward towards the establishment of peace”, added these two diplomats working in the Gulf and who requested anonymity.
Houthi rebel officials and media announced the visit earlier in the day. Contacted by AFP, the Saudi authorities have not confirmed it.
Like whole swaths of Yemeni territory, Sanaa has been under the control of the Houthis, a movement close to Iran, for more than eight years. The military coalition led by neighboring Saudi Arabia since 2015 to support pro-government forces, has failed to dislodge the insurgents.
Saudi officials have visited Sanaa in the past, but such visits are rare and often limited. But while Sunni Saudi Arabia has been trying for months to extricate itself from this quagmire, the recent rapprochement with its great Shia rival, Iran, has fueled hopes for appeasement in the Middle East, particularly in Yemen. .
On Saturday, Omani mediators also arrived in Sanaa to discuss with Houthi rebels a truce with Saudi Arabia.
A truce was agreed a year ago in Yemen and has since been largely held, but was not formally renewed when it expired last October.
“Tired”
The poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula is suffering one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world. The war has left hundreds of thousands dead and millions displaced, with colossal challenges such as epidemics, acute hunger and economic collapse, amid declining international aid.
A new truce under discussion includes demands long imposed by the rebels, Yemeni government sources told AFP.
The first is the lifting of the air and sea blockade maintained by the Saudi army on the country, preventing airports and ports under rebel control from operating without Riyadh’s approval.
Another demand is for the government to pay the salaries of all civil servants, including those working in Houthi-held areas.
On Saturday, the rebels also welcomed the release of 13 prisoners by the Saudi authorities in exchange for a Saudi detainee, Ryad not having commented on this announcement.
In March, the Yemeni government and the rebels reached an agreement in Bern on an exchange of more than 880 prisoners.
Despite fears that an agreement between Saudis and rebels will not necessarily mean the end of the civil war in Yemen, many on the streets of Sanaa want to keep hope for a soon peace.
“We want the war to end. We are tired,” Ali Hussein, a 23-year-old resident of the capital, told AFP.
Mahammed Dahmash, another 35-year-old resident, also told AFP that he hoped “more than a truce, an agreement that will completely end the war”.