No peace deal until Houthis disarm, say Yemen allies

Saudi-led coalition restates position after truce offer

BERLIN // A Saudi-led coalition will not accept a Yemeni peace deal unless it requires the Houthi movement to disband its armed wing, a spokesman said yesterday. The statement came in response to a truce offer made by the rebels three days earlier. The mostly Arab alliance, which includes the UAE, has been fighting Houthis in Yemen since March last year.

A Houthi official offered to stop attacks on Saudi Arabia and an amnesty for Yemeni fighters opposing the rebels if the kingdom stopped air raids and lifted a blockade. But Saudi Brig Gen Ahmed Al Assiri, the coalition spokesman, said that while a political solution to the conflict was needed, Saudi Arabia would not support an agreement that allowed the Houthis to maintain their militias. The kingdom will not “accept an armed militia at our back door”, Gen Al Assiri said, without making a direct reference to the truce offer. Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi’s government said any move towards peace could only begin when the Houthis meet last year’s UN Security Council Resolution mandating that they leave Yemen’s main cities and hand over weapons.