This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/03/yemen-injured-houthi-rebels-to-be-evacuated-raising-hope-of-peace-talks

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Yemen: injured Houthi rebels to be evacuated, raising hope of peace talks Yemen: injured Houthi rebels to be evacuated, raising hope of peace talks
(about 2 hours later)
Fifty wounded Houthi militants in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sana’a, will be evacuated to Muscat for treatment on Monday, a Saudi-led military coalition said, calling it a “confidence-building” measure before planned peace talks in Sweden. The UN envoy for Yemen will travel to the country’s capital, Sana’a, to oversee the evacuation of 50 Houthi fighters to Muscat, a critical confidence-building measure before peace talks can get under way in Stockholm as early as Wednesday.
The evacuation on a UN-chartered plane marks a key step forward in kickstarting stalled negotiations as world powers press for an end to the four-year conflict that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine. The evacuation on a UN-chartered plane on Monday would represent an essential building block to the talks starting. Martin Griffiths, the envoy, is trying to avoid the kind of last-minute hitch over the same issue that led to the postponement of discussions that were due to take in place in Geneva in September.
The fate of wounded rebels had been a stumbling block to the start of a previous round of aborted peace talks in September. The Yemeni conflict pits a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates against Houthi rebels from a resistance movement formed in opposition to Saudi religious influence. Four years of war have caused a dire humanitarian situation that risks descending into widespread famine unless some way is found of allowing the free flow of humanitarian aid into the country, aid agencies and the UN have warned.
Leaders of the “Yemen quartet” – Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the US and the UK – met in Riyadh at the weekend to discuss the continuing humanitarian crisis.
Who are the Houthis and why are they fighting the Saudi coalition in Yemen?Who are the Houthis and why are they fighting the Saudi coalition in Yemen?
“A UN-chartered plane will arrive at Sanaa international airport Monday to evacuate 50 wounded combatants accompanied by ... three Yemeni doctors and a UN doctor, from Sana’a to Muscat,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. “A UN-chartered plane will arrive at Sana’a international airport Monday to evacuate 50 wounded combatants accompanied by ... three Yemeni doctors and a UN doctor, from Sana’a to Muscat,” said Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition. The coalition was doing all that it could to help Griffiths’ peace efforts, he added.
The coalition agreed to facilitate the medical evacuations at the request of UN envoy Martin Griffiths for “humanitarian reasons” and as a “confidence-building” measure, Maliki said in the statement early on Monday. Houthi rebels have said they will attend if they are guaranteed safe passage, but trust between the coalition and the Houthis is in short supply.
There was no immediate reaction from Houthi rebels or the United Nations. Previous talks planned for September in Geneva failed when the Houthi delegation did not leave Sana’a, arguing that the UN could not guarantee their safe return. They also accused the UN of failing to secure the evacuation of wounded rebels to Oman.
The proposed UN-brokered peace talks have been backed by both the rebels and the Saudi-led government and were expected to take place in Sweden this week. UN secretary general Antonio Guterres, however, has played down the early December schedule and said he hoped talks would start “this year”. The last major talks were held in 2016 in Kuwait, but they broke down after 108 days of negotiations, leaving rebel delegates marooned in Oman for three months.
Houthi rebels have said they will attend if they are guaranteed safe passage. In recent days, Griffiths has held meetings separately with officials from both warring parties as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for talks in Sweden. In the opening round of talks, Griffiths hopes to secure a prisoner swap and a ceasefire in the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeidah as a foundation for a wider truce, including a halt to coalition airstrikes that have killed thousands of civilians and Houthi missile attacks on Saudi cities.
Previous talks planned for September in Geneva failed when the Houthi delegation did not leave Sana’a, arguing that the UN could not guarantee their safe return. They also accused the world body of failing to secure the evacuation of wounded rebels to Oman.
Previous talks in 2016 in Kuwait broke down after 108 days of negotiations, leaving rebel delegates stranded in Oman for three months.
In recent days, Griffiths has held talks separately with officials from both warring parties as part of efforts to lay the groundwork for talks in Sweden.
Children die as foreign powers circle over Yemen's shattered landChildren die as foreign powers circle over Yemen's shattered land
UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned last week that Yemen was “on the brink of a major catastrophe”, following a trip to the war-wracked country. The UN aid chief, Mark Lowcock, warned last week that Yemen was “on the brink of a major catastrophe”, after a trip to the war-stricken country. The UN said the conflict, and especially the recent economic crisis, were driving a big increase in severe hunger and malnutrition.
His comments came after renewed deadly clashes between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, which is vital for the flow of humanitarian aid. Lowcock said: “In Aden, I met emaciated children so malnourished they could barely open their eyes. Humanitarian assistance helps many of these children recover. But I also heard heartbreaking stories of children relapsing again and again because their families simply can’t afford food or proper medical care.”
Under heavy international pressure, Saudi-backed pro-government forces have largely suspended an offensive launched in June to take the port city. He also called for an end to fighting around infrastructure critical for aid operations and commercial imports. “It is unacceptable to see men with guns inside hospitals,” he said. “Conflict and fighters must stay away from civilian facilities,” Lowcock said.
Sporadic fighting has however continued since a fragile truce began on November 13. His comments came after renewed deadly clashes between Houthi rebels and pro-government forces in Hodeidah, which is a conduit for nearly 80% of the aid reaching the country.
The United Nations has described Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster, with at least 10,000 people killed since the intervention began in 2015. Rights groups fear the actual toll is far higher. Under heavy international pressure, including warnings of mass casualties, Saudi-backed pro-government forces have not launched a renewed all-out offensive to take the port city.
Sporadic fighting has, however, continued since a fragile truce began on November 13, and it is not always clear if Saudi-led forces have given up hope of a military victory, something that its international backers – the US and UK – insist is not achievable.
The US position is ambivalent, since elements in the Trump administration see the Yemen civil war solely through the lens of defeating Iran, the country providing most of the logistical support to the Houthi fighters.
The US Congress is due to vote again this week on whether to end US support for Saudi Arabia in the war, but the state department is trying to win back Republican support by presenting the civil war as critical to the US effort to end Iranian aggression in the Middle East.
UK-led efforts to win UN security council support for a resolution entrenching the terms of a cessation of hostilities have stalled in the past week amid hostility from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the US. The UAE said the resolution was ill-timed and not sufficiently even-handed.
YemenYemen
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
IranIran
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
United Nations
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content