Yemen’s President Calls on Houthi Militia to Negotiate Peace Deal

Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi on Monday called on the Iran-backed Houthi militia to reach a negotiated political agreement with the government to end the seven-year civil war, the official Saba news agency reported. “Return as a Yemeni political component that adheres to national constants, and come to the dialogue table to make peace,” Hadi said during a meeting with his government’s ministers at his residence in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, where he lives in exile. “Our hands stretch out to you for reaching a just and comprehensive peace and rebuilding our country,” he said, asking the rebels to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the ongoing truce to pave the way for “permanent peace.” On Saturday, a UN-brokered cease-fire between the warring sides of the Yemeni conflict entered into force. According to the two-month truce, all offensive ground, aerial and naval military operations are to halt, 18 fuel ships are to be permitted to dock at the Red Sea port of Al Hudaydah, and two commercial flights per week to and from Sanaa International Airport will be permitted. In addition, the two sides are to meet and decide on a lifting of the siege and opening of roads to allow humanitarian aid access to Taiz city, which is held by the government. Already, each side has accused the other of violating the truce over the past few days. The war broke out in late 2014 when the Houthis seized control of several provinces and forced Hadi’s Saudi-backed government out of Sanaa. Since then, tens of thousands of people have been killed, 4 million have been displaced, and much of the population has been pushed to starvation, according to the UN.