The Houthi group affirmed its refusal to participate in a dialogue to resolve the conflict being held in Saudi Arabia, at a time when the Gulf Cooperation Council seeks to bring together the two sides of the Yemeni war, the government and the rebels, according to a source in the Houthi “Ansar Allah” movement on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition in Yemen in support of the legitimate government, which has been engaged in a bloody power struggle with the Houthis since mid-2014, in a war that killed and wounded hundreds of thousands and caused the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.
According to Gulf officials, the Gulf Cooperation Council is leading diplomatic efforts to hold consultations in Riyadh between the Yemeni government and the rebels at the end of this month in an attempt to stop the devastating conflict.
However, an official in the Supreme Political Council of the Houthi group, the most prominent political authority of the rebels, confirmed the group’s refusal to go to Riyadh for dialogue.
“We will welcome the invitation to dialogue in a land other than the territory of the countries of aggression,” he told AFP, preferring to remain anonymous, referring to Saudi Arabia and the countries participating in the military coalition led by the kingdom.
He continued, “We are always and forever, our hands outstretched for peace and honorable peace for all Yemenis.”
Talks are supposed to start on March 29, according to a Yemeni government official.
In the past, several rounds of peace talks between the two sides of the conflict failed.
Millions of Yemenis need help, while the United Nations expressed disappointment after a donors’ conference for Yemen, held on Wednesday, collected less than a third of the required amount, which the organization says is needed to spare the country a humanitarian catastrophe.
The United Nations had called during the conference to raise $4.27 billion to help 17.3 million people in Yemen, but the total pledged by donors at the end of the conference was limited to $1.3 billion.