ADEN // Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their allies on Wednesday told mediators they were ready to accept a UN peace agreement after suffering repeated military defeats by the Yemeni army and a Saudi-led coalition.
Both the Houthis and the political party of Yemen’s former president said on Wednesday they had notified UN chief Ban Ki-moon that they were ready to join talks on a settlement based on a seven-point peace plan proposed in talks in Oman last month.
Under the plan, they would have to accept a UN Security Council resolution calling for rebels to withdraw from territories they have captured and for them to hand over weapons they had seized from Yemen’s military.
The concession comes after military chiefs declared victory in Marib Province, leaving Yemeni forces backed by GCC troops within 30 kilometres of Sanaa.
General Murad Turaiq, head of the Yemeni military in Marib and Bayda provinces, told The National, it was "game over" for the Houthis.
He said the Yemeni and coalition forces were still flushing out the final pockets of resistance in Marib, but that they would have full control of Al Gofainah, Al Balaq and Sirwah on Wednesday.
“The forces are sweeping the mines that the Houthis planted before they fled the area,” he said.
In the letter to Mr Ban dated October 3, Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam confirmed that his group and others allied to it backed the seven-point plan.
Former president Ali Abdullah Saleh’s General People’s Congress (GPC) party also said it accepted the plan. Mr Saleh, who was ousted from power in 2012 after a popular uprising gainst his rule, sided with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels as they took over the capital Sanaa in September 2014.
The Houthis have repeatedly refused to agree to the UN resolution, but with military pressure building they have been forced to seek a solution to the conflict.
President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, supported by a Saudi-led coalition of countries, has ruled out an agreement until the Houthis and Mr Saleh’s forces implement the document. However, he has also said his government would join the UN-sponsored talks if the Houthis publicly accept the resolution.
Yaseen Al Adimi, a professor of politics at Taez University said the Houthis had refused the chance to negotiate on several occasions since the conflict began and are only seeking to negotiate after realising they are the weakest side.
“The Houthis only understand the language of force, if they feel that there is a side that can defeat them, they will resort to the negotiation, unless they will use the force to kill the civilians,” he said.
“I do not think that the Houthis rebels are going to accept the UN resolution, but they will try to get more time to prepare themselves again for war,” Mr Al Adimi added.
In Marib, the first northern province to be entirely recaptured by the pro-Hadi forces, some residents celebrated the news of the Houthi defeat.
Mohammed Al Gadasi, a journalist based there, said it felt like life had started to return to normal and friends and relatives were forwarding around congratulatory messages.
“The victory of Marib is a victory for the whole country”, he said. He said the pro-Hadi forces were spread across the whole province making it difficult for the Houthis to return.
Brig Gen Ali Saif Al Kaabi, the coalition commander, announced victory in Marib late on Tuesday, saying large numbers of Houthi rebels and their allies were killed or captured in the final battle for Sirwah.
“The road to Sanaa is now most likely to be open following the fall of Sirwah which cut off supplies from the enemy,” Gen Al Kaabi told Sky News Arabia.
Many of the Houthis fled from Marib’s Sirwah district towards Sanaa province, while others fled into Al Jawf province, which is still controlled by the Houthis.
Elsewhere, there was fierce fighting in Taez province along the main road that connects Taez with Lahj province and Aden. The road is used by the pro-Hadi forces to resupply a key battleground in Taez city.
Since the Arab coalition joined the war in March, most of Southern Yemen, including Aden has been recaptured from the Houthis and their allies.
Last week, the pro-Hadi forces retook the coastline and an island along the Bab Al Mandeb Strait, restoring stability to the key waterway at the entrance to the Red Sea, which acts as one of the world’s major shipping routes.
But the Saudi-led troops suffered a setback on Tuesday when coordinated terrorist attacks in Aden killed 15 coalition soldiers, including four Emiratis.
A group claiming to be an affiliate of ISIL said it used car bombs to attack a hotel housing Yemen’s government, a military camp of the coalition forces and the headquarters of the Emirates Red Crescent. The bombings also killed civilians and Yemeni troops.
Speaking in Riyadh on Wednesday, Mr Hadi said the attacks in Aden were carried out by terrorist elements seeking to further destabilise the country.
He said the government would continue to work to restore safety to Yemen.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Reuters, Wam
