Sana’a: UN envoy Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad arrived on Saturday in Yemen’s rebel-held capital to try to restart peace talks between Iran-backed insurgents and the legitimate government.
The Mauritanian diplomat met Ali Hajar, a foreign affairs representative of the Al Houthi rebels, Sana’a airport director Khalid Al Shayef said.
It came a day after the UN envoy held talks in Riyadh with Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi.
Yemen’s Saba news agency said Ould Shaikh Ahmad met Hadi to relaunch “efforts to reestablish peace in Yemen”.
“All doors are open to reach peace based on (UN) Security Council resolutions,” Hadi was quoted as saying.
Yemen has been gripped by violence since September 2014, when the Iran-backed Al Houthi rebels, who had long complained of marginalisation, stormed Sana’a and forced the legitimate government to flee south.
A Saudi-led coalition began bombing raids on Al Houthi positions across Yemen in March 2015 but the insurgents still control parts of the country including the capital.
Hadi’s government has declared the southern city of Aden to be the country’s provisional capital.
The year-long coalition campaign has faced criticism over civilian casualties.
This week coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmad Al Assiri said that the alliance was at “the end of the major combat phase”, raising hopes of a possible relaunch of peace talks.
Previous UN-sponsored negotiations between rebels and government officials failed to reach a breakthrough, and the most recent round ended in acrimony in December.
Hadi’s government insists that the Al Houthis must abide by UN Security Council resolution 2216, which states the rebels must withdraw from seized territories and disarm, before peace talks can progress.
The World Health Organisation says fighting in Yemen has killed more than 6,200 people over the past year and the United Nations has warned of an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe.
