Sana’a: Yemen’s internationally recognised president will not participate in UN-brokered talks later this week with Al Houthi rebels who control the capital and much of the country’s north, his office said Sunday.
The statement said there would be no talks with the rebels unless they accept a UN resolution that obliges them to withdraw from areas they seized and surrender weapons taken from state institutions.
“The gathering (of government officals) affirmed it would not take part in any meeting until the (Al Houthi) coup militia recognise international resolution 2216 and accepts to implement it unconditionally,” a statement carried by Saba said.
It said the meeting included President Hadi, his vice president and advisors.
The UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad, had announced that both the government and the rebels agreed to attend talks in Oman, the only Gulf Arab state not in the Saudi-led coalition.
The conflict now appears set to intensify as thousands of coalition troops have been deployed to the central desert province of Marib.
A local Yemeni official in Marib said foreign units had for the first time joined ground fighting alongside pro-Hadi fighters in the area on Sunday, sending around 10 tanks and armoured vehicles to the frontline.
Government loyalists meanshile launched a major push towards the capital Sana’a. A military official said the offensive aimed to Al Houthis out of the oil-rich Marib province east of Sana’a and eventually move on the capital, which the rebels seized a year ago.
