Yemen rebels offer to halt attacks on Saudi Arabia

SANAA, Yemen (AA) - Yemen’s Houthi rebels have offered to stop attacks against Saudi Arabia in return for halting airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition.

"We are the ones who call for peace and have offered many solutions for it, but the outcome so far is that the American, British and European bombing continues and the battles continue," Muhammad Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council, said on Twitter.

Al-Houthi said his group is ready to take the initiative of halting attacks on Saudi Arabia provided “there is seriousness” from the Saudi-led coalition to end its “aggression” on Yemen.

There was no comment from Saudi or Yemeni authorities on the Houthi offer.

In recent days, the Houthi militias have accelerated their drone and ballistic missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, garnering widespread Arab and international condemnation.

The Arab coalition announced recently the interception and destruction of around ten drones launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia in less than a week.

On Thursday, Saudi Arabia informed the UN Security Council that it would take all necessary measures to defend its territory and to protect its citizens from Houthi “terrorist” attacks.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises with 233,000 people killed, nearly 80% or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starving to death, according to UN estimates.

*Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara contributed to this report