Omani Delegation Arrives in Sanaa for Truce Talks With Houthi Leadership

An Omani delegation arrived Tuesday in the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen for its second visit in less than a month in an effort to mediate between the Houthi militia and the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government on the renewal of a UN-brokered truce. The delegation is to meet with the top Houthi leadership, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

A two-month truce between the warring parties in Yemen’s civil war first came into effect on April 2, 2022, and was renewed twice, bringing the longest period of tranquility since the war started in 2014. According to the UN, the truce decreased casualties by 60% in the country, quadrupled the amount of fuel entering Yemen through the Hodeidah port, and helped to return the proper functioning of public services including a compelling improvement in Yemenis’ access to medical care. But in October 2022, the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia failed to extend the truce, raising concern about the return of major violence to the Arab country.

The Yemeni civil war began in late 2014 when the Houthi rebel movement, which is allied with Iran and forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, seized control of several northern cities and forced the Saudi-backed Yemeni government out of the capital. The ongoing conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million, and pushed the country to the brink of starvation.