Saudis offer cease-fire plan to Yemen’s Houthi rebels

Saudi Arabia on Monday offered a cease-fire proposal to Yemen’s Houthi rebels. The offer includes reopening their country’s main airport as the kingdom attempts to halt years of fighting in a war that has sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The move came after the rebels stepped up a campaign of drone and missile attacks on the kingdom’s oil sites, briefly shaking global energy prices amid the coronavirus pandemic. It also comes as Riyadh tries to rehabilitate its image with the U.S. under President Joe Biden. Saudi Arabia has drawn international criticism for airstrikes that have killed civilians and embargoes that have exacerbated hunger in a nation on the brink of famine.

A senior Houthi official, who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the rebels had been aware of the proposal and in direct communication with the Saudis, as well as interlocutors from Oman. However, he said the Saudis needed to do more to see a cease-fire implemented, something reiterated by others in the Iranian-backed rebel group.

The war has killed some 130,000 people, including over 13,000 civilians in targeted attacks, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Project. Tens of thousands of children have died of starvation and disease. The fighting has become a regional conflict, with the Saudis using U.S.-made weaponry, and Iran linked to weapons used by the Houthis to target the kingdom.