Yemen Peace Talks Resume as Houthi Rebels Begin Withdrawing from Hodeidah

The Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government and Iran-sponsored Houthi rebels began fresh UN-sponsored peace talks in Jordan on Monday. The discussions will focus on utilizing revenues derived from Hodeidah’s three Red Sea ports to help alleviate an urgent humanitarian crisis, as four years of war has pushed some 15 million Yemenis to the brink of starvation. Hodeidah has been a focal point during the conflict given it is the main point of entry for commercial goods passing into the country. The rebel forces have reportedly started withdrawing from areas of strategic city, in accordance with a UN-mediated agreement forged last December in Sweden. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in 2015 intervened in the war in Yemen, after the Houthis captured the capital Sana’a and ousted the internationally recognized government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The fighting has since killed tens of thousands of people and left at least 80 percent of Yemen’s population of 28 million in dire need of humanitarian aid.