Saudi Arabia, Yemen discuss UN peace roadmap amid Houthi attacks in Red Sea

By Iyad Nabolsi

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AA) – Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman held talks on Thursday with Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak to discuss a UN roadmap to end the civil war in Yemen.

The discussions also dwelt on efforts to support peace talks between Yemen’s warring rivals to help restore stability to the Arab country, the Saudi official news agency SPA reported.

The UN roadmap includes a commitment from the country’s warring rivals to implement a nationwide cease-fire, pay all public sector salaries, resume oil exports, open roads in Taiz and other parts of Yemen, and further ease restrictions on Sanaa Airport and Al Hudaydah port.

Earlier this week, the Yemeni government suspended the implementation of the UN roadmap, citing Houthi escalation in the Red Sea.

Yemen has been beset by violence and chaos since 2014 when Iran-backed Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa. The crisis escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition launched a devastating air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi territorial gains.

Since then, tens of thousands of Yemenis are believed to have been killed in the conflict, while 14 million are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.

The Houthis have been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, where nearly 32,000 people have been killed in a deadly Israeli offensive since last October following a Hamas attack.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala