19 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Defense Minister of the Huthi insurgency in Yemen, General Mohamed al Atifi, has recommended this past Saturday to Saudi Arabia, a great ally of the country’s authorities, to shake the hand extended by the rebels when participating in the talks of peace for the country under the auspices of Oman.
The leader of the Huthi movement, known as Ansarullah, Abdulmalik Badradin al-Huthi, late on Friday offered the Yemeni government an “opportunity” to participate in talks aimed at ending some eight years of civil war that has completely devastated the which itself was one of the poorest countries in the world.
“We urge the coalition led by the Saudi Army to take advantage of this opportunity to cement a peace agreement,” the general declared from the capital, Sana’a, in comments collected by the Lebanese Shiite Al Manar chain.
The war in Yemen pits the internationally recognized government, now represented by the Presidential Leadership Council and supported by the international coalition led by Saudi Arabia, against the Houthis, backed by Iran. The Houthis control the capital, Sana’a, and parts of the north and west of the country.
The United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, is trying to bring positions closer between the parties to relaunch the peace process, after the truce agreed in April 2022 expired in October on the occasion of the start of the month of Ramadan and was subsequently extended on several occasions.
