Yemen's UN envoy meets with Houthi delegation in Muscat

The UN envoy is scheduled to meet STC officials in Abu Dhabi in 'the next few days'

epa06639061 UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffith gives a news conference prior to his departure at the Sana'a International Airport, in Sana'a, Yemen, 31 March 2018. According to reports, UN special envoy Martin Griffiths left Sana'a after a week-long visit, in diplomatic efforts to end a three-year escalating conflict between the Saudi-led coalition-backed Yemen's government and Houthi militias.  EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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The UN's special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, met a Houthi rebel delegation in Muscat on Saturday, a source said.

“This is the team that is supposed to take part in the UN-backed peace negotiations between the disputing Yemeni parties, which will be held in the near future,” a source from Yemen's General People’s Congress (GPC) party said.

Mr Griffiths also met high-ranking officials from the GPC, which was headed by Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed in December last year by the Iran-backed Houthis after their alliance collapsed, said Dr Abu Baker Al Qirbi, a former minister in Saleh's government, on Twitter.

“I met the UN envoy to Yemen today in Muscat, and he came with a deep understanding of the Yemeni crisis and of those who are hindering a solution to it,” he said.

“The UN envoy is keen to open a window for a solution with a solid base, and he is strongly supported by the Security Council and General Secretary of the UN.”

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Meanwhile, the president of the Southern Transitional Council, Maj Gen Aidroos Al Zubaidi, left the Yemeni city of Aden on Saturday and headed to Abu Dhabi, where he is due to meet Mr Griffiths.

Mr Griffiths is scheduled to leave Oman to the UAE capital in “the next few days”.

Meanwhile, one man was killed and three children were injured on Saturday when Houthi forces attacked a neighbourhood in the Sala district, east of the Taez province. In the north, at least 11 Houthis rebels were killed, including a top official, identified as Abu Amas Al Hamzi.