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Saudi Arabia launches peace initiative in Yemen, Houthis not impressed: "Nothing new"

The foreign minister of the kingdom said the plan, which includes the opening of the rebel-controlled ports, will take effect after all parties accept it.

However, the pro-Iranian Houthis are demanding the lifting of the siege as a condition of their consent to a ceasefire.

Riyadh is under pressure from the Biden administration to end the six-year war

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• Yemen

• Houthim

• Saudi Arabia

News agencies

Monday, 22 March 2021, 18:37

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In the video: 44 people killed in a fire that broke out following the Houthi fire at an immigrant detention center in Sanaa (Photo: Reuters)

Saudi Arabia today (Monday) unveiled a new peace initiative to end the war in Yemen, which includes the opening of the airport in Sanaa and the introduction of fuel and food through the port of Hudaydah - both of which are under the control of the Houthi rebels.

The plan was presented by Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan a-Saud, who stated that it would take effect when all warring parties accepted it.

The Saudi-backed Yemeni government has welcomed the initiative, which should also lead to the opening of peace talks, but pro-Iranian Houthis have said "there is nothing new about it."

The rebels demand the lifting of the air and naval siege on Yemen, arguing that opening the ports "is a humanitarian right that should not be used as a means of pressure."

The UN welcomed the Saudi initiative, which includes the organization's oversight of a comprehensive ceasefire and the opening of air and sea transport routes to the impoverished Arab state.

Read more on the subject

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Demonstration of Houthi rebels in Yemen, January (Photo: Reuters)

Saudi Arabia has been under increasing pressure to end the six-year war in Yemen since US President Joe Biden announced the end of Washington's support.

In addition, unlike former President Donald Trump, Biden refrained from speaking directly to Regent Muhammad bin Salman, who is considered the de facto ruler of the kingdom, and instead had a telephone conversation with his father, King Salman.

Biden has also imposed sanctions on Saudi officials linked to the assassination of journalist Jamal Hashkoji, but not on Ben Salman himself, as Democratic officials and human rights groups had hoped.

The conflict in Yemen, which to many is an indirect confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, has turned into a war of attrition and millions of civilians on the brink of starvation.

The Houthis are blaming the Arab coalition for the country's humanitarian crisis, which the United Nations says is the worst in the world

. The Saudi coalition refuses to lift the siege, which it says prevents Iranian weapons from being transferred to the Houthis. Tehran denies providing them with missiles, drones and other weapons in which the rebels attack the kingdom and government forces.

In recent months, the Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi targets, including damaging oil facilities within the kingdom, one of them in the capital Riyadh last weekend.

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