Small Wars Journal

Saudi Arabia Invites Houthi Rebels to Talks in Riyadh

Tue, 03/31/2020 - 6:36am

Saudi Arabia Invites Houthi Rebels to Talks in Riyadh by Warren P. Strobel - Wall Street Journal

Saudi Arabia is in daily talks with Iran-aligned Houthi insurgents in Yemen and has invited Houthi representatives and the internationally recognized government in Yemen to peace talks in the kingdom, a senior Saudi official said.

Saudi’s ambassador to Yemen, Mohammed al-Jaber, said the proposal for talks to end the five-year war, which has killed more than 100,000 people, remains on the table despite a flare-up in violence over the weekend. The Houthis haven’t yet responded to the offer, he said.

Saudi authorities on Saturday said they shot down ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis at its capital Riyadh and another city on the Saudi border with Yemen. A Saudi-led military coalition on Monday responded with airstrikes in San’a, the first such strikes in Yemen’s capital in months.

Mr. Jaber said Saudi officials spoke with their Houthi counterparts on Monday to emphasize that the San’a strikes were in response to Saturday’s missile attacks and not intended as a re-escalation of the conflict…

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