Houthi Representatives In Sweden For Peace Talks, As UN Warns Of Yemen’s Economic Collapse

A Houthi delegation is in Sweden for United Nations-sponsored negotiations—the first since 2016— geared towards ending the war in Yemen. The talks come as Western nations are upping the pressure on a Saudi-led coalition of Sunni Gulf states to end their military operations against the Iranian-backed Houthis, as Yemen teeters on the verge of an economic meltdown. The humanitarian situation, meanwhile, continues to deteriorate, with half of the population—some 14 million people—at immediate risk of starvation. The Houthi team was escorted from the Yemeni capital Sanaa—seized by the Shiite rebels in 2014—to Stockholm by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths, who recently has made headway by brokering deals to evacuate wounded fighters as well as a prisoner exchange between the sides. Members of the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi were slated to arrive in the Scandinavian nation on Wednesday, with discussions expected to focus on further confidence-building measures—such as re-opening the airport in Sanaa and forging a lasting truce in the strategic port city of Hodeida—in addition to the eventual formation of a transitional governing body. The UN has warned that Yemen needs billions of dollars in foreign aid to fund core state functions, avoid another currency collapse and prevent mass famine. The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, which tracks the war, pegs the total death toll at nearly 60,000.