Houthis Boycott GCC Summit on Yemen Conflict Over Venue

The Gulf Cooperation Council is holding a summit on the Yemen civil war without the participation of one side to the conflict, the Houthis. The Houthis are boycotting the summit because it is being held in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, the headquarters of the GCC. Saudi Arabia has since 2015 led a coalition of several Arab states in support of Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

The GCC announced earlier this month that it would invite both sides in Yemen’s civil war for talks. The Houthis rejected the suggested venue for the talks, Riyadh, saying it would be willing to negotiate in a more neutral country.

The GCC, made up of  Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, hopes to achieve a cease-fire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which starts later this week. Such cease-fires have been put into effect for Ramadan in the past. The Houthis have in recent weeks stepped up their attacks on Saudi Arabian targets. On Friday, the Houthis struck a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Jeddah, causing a huge fire in a storage tank. The Saudis responded by pounding the Houthi capital of Sanaa, after which the Houthis called a unilateral three-day cease-fire.