Gulf states plan Yemen talks without Houthi rebels present

Gulf Arab states are holding a summit about the war in Yemen – but the country’s Houthi rebels are boycotting the talks because they are taking place in Saudi Arabia, their adversary in the conflict.

The decision by the Iranian-backed Houthis to skip the summit called by the Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has immediately called into question the effectiveness of such a gathering.

The United Nations, diplomats and others have been pushing for another potential ceasefire to mark the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, similar to efforts for a truce over the past years.

Ramadan is likely to start this weekend, depending on the sighting of the new crescent moon.

The GCC – a six-nation bloc including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – was to hold closed-door talks on Tuesday in Riyadh.

On Monday, the GCC’s secretary-general Nayef al-Hajraf held talks with British Ambassador to Yemen Richard Oppenheim and Yemeni officials allied with its internationally recognised but exiled government.

Those talks saw Mr al-Hajraf, a Kuwaiti politician, discuss “efforts to stop the war and ways to achieve comprehensive peace to alleviate the human suffering witnessed by Yemeni people”, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency.

The Houthis, meanwhile, have rejected the summit because of its venue in Saudi Arabia, as well as the continuing closure of Sanaa’s airport and restrictions on the country’s ports by the Saudi-led coalition that is waging war on the Houthis.

The rebels, who over the weekend attacked an oil depot in the Saudi city of Jiddah ahead of a Formula One race there, have called for the talks to be held in a “neutral” country.

Houthi spokesman Mohammad Abdul-Salam wrote on Twitter: “The Saudi regime must prove its seriousness towards peace … by responding to a ceasefire, lifting the siege and expelling foreign forces from our country.

“Then peace will come and it is time to talk about political solutions in a calm atmosphere away from any military or humanitarian pressure.”

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh supported the Houthi position in a statement on Tuesday.

He also noted Ramadan was soon and that a possible prisoner swap could help ease tensions.

“The plan proposed by Sanaa in good faith carries a strong message suggesting robust determination to end the war, lift the cruel blockade on people and resolve the Yemen crisis through political means,” Mr Khatibzadeh said.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke late on Monday with Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

The US state department said the two “discussed support for the UN’s proposal for a Ramadan truce in Yemen and efforts to launch a new, more inclusive and comprehensive peace process”.

The US under President Joe Biden has pulled back from the Saudi campaign while still supplying the kingdom new air defence missiles.

Yemen’s war began in September 2014, when the Houthis swept into the capital, Sanaa, from their north-western stronghold in the Arab world’s poorest country.

The Houthis then pushed into exile the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, elected in 2012 as the sole candidate after the long rule of Ali Abdullah Saleh.

A Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, entered the war in March 2015 to try and restore Mr Hadi’s government to power. But the war stretched into long bloody years, pushing Yemen to the brink of famine.

More than 150,000 people have been killed in the warfare, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

Those include both fighters and civilians. The most-recent figure for the civilian death toll in Yemen’s conflict stands at 14,500.

Also, Saudi air strikes have killed hundreds of civilians and targeted the country’s infrastructure.

The Houthis have used child soldiers and indiscriminately laid landmines across the country.

Meanwhile, gunmen shot and killed a security officer in Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on Tuesday, security officials said.

They identified the slain officer as Capt Karam al-Mashraqi, with the UAE-backed Security Belt militia.

Capt al-Mashraqi was the second senior security official killed this month in Aden, the seat of Hadi’s government.

No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the killing.