UN ENVOY RENEWS EFFORTS FOR PEACE IN YEMEN
Martin Griffiths to visit embattled Hodeidah for talks with Houthi rebels
The UN envoy to Yemen will visit the rebel-held battleground of Hodeidah later this week as international pressure builds for peace talks.
Martin Griffiths will probably visit on Friday, a diplomatic source told The National, after his initial travel plan was delayed by an outbreak of fighting. “He is expected to hold talks with Houthi representatives in the city as well visit the port, Al Thawra hospital and hold meetings with officials from the World Health Programme.”
Government forces retook parts of the city from the Iranbacked Houthi rebels this month, but the city’s port, the entry point for most of Yemen’s food imports and aid shipments, remains under the control of the rebels. Aid agencies have repeatedly said that the fighting threatens medical facilities in the city and is driving the country closer to famine.
Negotiations to end the war are expected in early December in Sweden, although no date has yet been set.
More than three years of conflict between the rebels and pro-government forces backed by the Saudi-led Arab military coalition have left eight million Yemeni civilians severely affected by food shortages and plunged the country into economic crisis.
A UN-brokered attempt at peace talks in September collapsed after the rebels refused to travel to Geneva.
“We are expecting the Houthis to show up in Sweden this time around, but we believe their participation will not be genuine,” a Yemeni official told The National.
“We are dealing with an organisation that resembles ISIS, it is brutal and cannot be trusted,” the official said. The rebels must abide by confidence-building measures that Mr Griffiths has arranged, he said.
“The UN envoy is trying to build trust with the Houthis, that is his mission in Yemen. The rebels need to release prisoners and hand over the port of Hodeidah to the UN,” he said.
Mr Griffiths arrived in Sanaa on Wednesday for talks with Houthi leaders as the push for peace gathered momentum, with the UAE, a leading coalition member, and the United States voicing support for the negotiations.
The move puts the onus directly on the parties themselves – the Houthis and the government of Yemen – to come to the table and take it seriously, Elizabeth Dickinson, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, told The National.
“What’s important between now and December is that all sides avoid any moves – whether military or otherwise – that could undermine fragile confidence in the talks or even set back diplomacy altogether,” Ms Dickinson said.
“Trust is key to getting the
talks off the ground,” she said.
In an interview with Sky News Arabia, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, said the talks in Sweden would be a first step towards a political solution between the government and the Houthi rebels.
“We are putting sincere efforts to provide the right atmosphere for the occasion, but it needs a Yemeni framework supported from regional countries and the United Nations,” Sheikh Abdullah said, while praising Mr Griffiths’s role.
He said the UAE was “looking forward to the Stockholm talks, which may not be the last round of negotiations but we hope it will be a basis for more serious talks from the Houthis if they are serious about solving the crisis”.
The rebels refused to attend the talks in Geneva after setting last-minute conditions.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are now in a position to support the negotiations more, given that their military position in Yemen is stronger, Cinzia Bianco, a senior analyst at Gulf State Analytics, told The National.
“We might see fighting intensify ahead of the discussions for the parties to achieve a stronger position in terms of control on the ground,” Ms Bianco said.
Sheikh Abdullah blamed Iran for prolonging the conflict. “Were it not for Iranian intervention in Yemen, the Yemeni crisis would have ended a long time ago,” he said. He called Iran a “neighbouring country that deserves to be like any other country seeking development and serving its people”, but criticised its leadership for placing its priorities elsewhere.
“I hope there are minds in Iran that desire stability in Iran and the region to change the current path,” he said.
The UAE’s support came as the US State Department called for “all parties to support Martin Griffiths by immediately ceasing hostilities and engaging in direct talks aimed at ending the conflict”.
Spokeswoman Heather Nauert referred to a statement by the UN special envoy that “the Houthis and the Republic of Yemen government are committed to attending the consultations in Sweden, and we call on the parties to follow through on that commitment”.
“The time for direct talks and building mutual confidence is now,” Ms Nauert said.
US Secretary of Defence James Mattis also sounded upbeat in remarks at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
“It looks like very, very early in December, up in Sweden, we’ll see both the Houthi rebel side and the UN-recognised President Hadi government up there,” he said.
“The Saudis and the Emiratis are fully on board.”
The US Congress has put increased pressure on the Trump administration to seek a political resolution to the conflict. Fear of a widespread humanitarian catastrophe and an economic collapse have added a sense of urgency to peace efforts.
A report by Save The Children on Tuesday estimated that more than 80,000 children may have died of hunger in the war-ravaged country.