Yemen govt says it is ready to re-start talks with rebels

Yemen’s government said Thursday it was ready to re-start peace talks with Huthi rebels, as international pressure to end the years-long conflict intensifies.

The United Nations said a day earlier it aimed to relaunch the talks within a month, after a previous attempt collapsed in September when the rebels refused to attend.

“The Republic of Yemen welcomes all efforts to restore peace,” a government statement carried by the state-run Saba news agency said. “The government of Yemen is ready to immediately launch talks on the process of confidencebuilding, primarily the release of all detainees and prisoners, as well as those who have been abducted or subject to enforced disappearance,” it said.

The United States this week called for an immediate end to the hostilities in Yemen, where Washington backs a Saudi-led coalition fighting alongside the government against the Iranbacked Huthis.

In September, the Huthis refused to travel to Geneva for peace talks, accusing the UN of failing to guarantee their delegation’s return to the Yemeni capital Sanaa and to secure the evacuation of wounded rebels.

Previous talks broke down in 2016, when 108 days of negotiations in Kuwait between the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and the rebels failed to yield a deal.

US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo this week called for an end to the Yemen war.