Houthis must withdraw before transition, says Yemen government

The Yemeni government has demanded Houthi rebels to withdraw from seized territories before any transition is to be considered, in the latest blow to peace talks.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab

23 June, 2016

Houthi rebels seized the capital in September 2014 [Getty]

Houthi rebels must withdraw from all occupied territories and return full control of state institutions ahead of any political settlement, the Yemeni government has said.

The latest development is just the latest blow to hit the Kuwait-based peace talks that have made little progress since they began two months ago.

The government delegation said "nothing has been agreed" in two months of negotiations in Kuwait.

"There can be no talk of any political arrangements before the (rebel) militias completely withdraw and hand over their weapons, and state institutions and agencies are restored to the legitimate government," it said.

"Any political partnership in the future must be between political parties and groups that have no militias."

On Wednesday, the Houthis refused to sign any peace deals without prior agreement on a "consensus president" to lead the transition.

The demand from the rebels, who control swathes of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, comes a day after the UN envoy said he had proposed a roadmap for peace following two months of negotiations in Kuwait.

But the government insisted that Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi – who was appointed president in a one-candidate election – is the legitimate leader expected to lead any transition.

The peace roadmap announced by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed calls for the implementation of security arrangements set out in an April 2015 Security Council resolution and the formation of a government of national unity.

Security arrangements under Resolution 2216 require the rebels and their allies to withdraw from areas they have occupied since 2014, including Sanaa, and hand over heavy weapons.

"The delegations have responded positively to the proposals, but have not yet reached agreement on the sequencing of the different steps provided in the roadmap," mainly when the unity government would be formed, Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Security Council.

More than 6,400 have been killed in Yemen, since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of Hadi's government in March last year.

Another 2.8 million people have been displaced and more than 80 percent of the population are in urgent need of humanitarian aid, according to UN figures.