Given leave

Fighters allowed to get treatment before Sweden hosts Yemen talks

Wounded Yemen rebels evacuated in goodwill gesture ahead of peace talks.

DUBAI: The Saudi-led coalition said it approved evacuating wounded Houthi fighters from Yemen for treatment, meeting a main c o n d i - tion for the group to attend UNsponsored peace talks in Sweden this week aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old war.

Prospects for convening talks have increased as Western allies press Saudi Arabia, leader of the Sunni Muslim alliance battling the Iranian-aligned Houthis, over a war that has killed more than 10,000 people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The peace talks may start tomorrow, two sources familiar with the matter said, after UN special envoy Martin Griffiths shuttled between the parties to salvage a previous round that collapsed in September after the Houthis failed to show up.

Western powers, which provide arms and intelligence to the coalition, may have greater leverage to demand action on Yemen after outrage over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh’s consulate in Istanbul led to increased scrutiny of the kingdom’s activities in the region.

The US Senate is due to consider this week a resolution to end support for the conflict, which is seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and its arch foe, Syiah Iran.

The coalition agreed for a UN commercial plane to transport 50 wounded Houthis from the Houthiheld capital Sanaa to Oman for treatment “for humanitarian considerations and as part of confidence-building measures” ahead of the talks, spokesman Turki al-Malki said in a statement.

A Reuters photographer saw the group of 50 fighters entering Sanaa airport.

The Houthis had also set as a condition to travel to Sweden that their plane not be inspected by the coalition.

They have agreed to travel on a plane provided by Kuwait, one source said.

The Saudi-backed government has said it would follow the Houthis for the consultations, the first since 2016, which are also due to focus on a transitional governing body.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it backs the talks and was ready to help find a political solution, Iranian state TV reported yesterday.

“If the parties actually turn up in Sweden ... that in itself must be considered progress, even if there are no concrete outcomes,” said Elisabeth Kendall, a senior research fellow in Arabic and Islamic Studies at Oxford University.

“Neither side wishes to be blamed for the dire consequences of the looming famine, which is starting to become a reality,” she said.

“But it remains to be seen whether the political will is really there to make the necessary concessions for peace.” — Reuters

If the parties actually turn up in Sweden ... that in itself must be considered progress, even if there are no concrete outcomes. Elisabeth Kendall