GCC, Yemen discuss preparations for reconstruction conference

Riyadh: Yemen and the Gulf Cooperation Council states are discussing preparations for an international reconstruction conference for Yemen, to be held after Yemeni parties reach a political solution to the Yemeni crisis in accordance with the Riyadh Declaration, the final communique of the 36th GCC Summit concluded earlier this month.

This came during a meeting between Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Negotiations of the GCC, Abdul Aziz Al Uwaisheq, and Yemeni Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Mohammad Al Maytami.

Al Maytami said calling for the upcoming international conference will be an important step towards overcoming the consequence of the crisis and restoring stability and reconstruction.

The GCC and Yemeni officials also discussed efforts being made by the GCC to restore security and stability to Yemen.

Yemeni pro-government forces and rebels completed an exchange of hundreds of detainees on Thursday, an official said, amid a shaky ceasefire on the third day of UN-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland.

“We have successfully completed the process of exchanging the prisoners,” said Mukhtar Al Rabbash, a member of the prisoners’ affairs committee, which is close to the government.

The swap involved 370 Al Houthi militia and 285 pro-government fighters, he said.

It took place in the Yafaa district of the southern province of Lahj, along the border with the central Bayda province, witnesses said.

The swap was slowed down by concerns over security along the route linking the two exchange points, Rabbash said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross in Sana’a, which was involved in a previous prisoner swap, said earlier that the organisation was “not aware of such an exchange”.

Little information has emerged from the open-ended talks in Switzerland aimed at ending Yemen’s devastating conflict.

A fragile ceasefire declared by forces loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, which began on Tuesday, remained shaky with reports of sporadic violations on the ground.

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Hadi accused Al Houthi Shiite militia of flouting the ceasefire immediately, and acknowledged that it had “responded to these violations”.

Heavy clashes erupted overnight Wednesday in Marib province, east of militia-held Sana’a, between pro-government Popular Resistance fighters and the militia, military sources said.

Pro-Hadi forces stormed a military base that was controlled by militia in northern Marib, following clashes that left an unspecified number of casualties on both sides, the sources said.

An officer said Al Houthis in Mass “did not adhere to the ceasefire” and used the base to fire at pro-Hadi forces.

Al Houthis and allied renegade troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh were also accused by residents of bombing areas controlled by pro-Hadi forces in the flashpoint city of Taiz.

More than 5,800 people have been killed in the country — about half of them civilians — and more than 27,000 wounded since March, according to the UN.