Yemen’s government delegation to peace talks were leaving Kuwait on Monday after the rebel side rejected a draft peace plan proposed by the United Nations, its representatives said.
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Spokesperson for the Houthi troops Mohamed Abdel Salam said they welcomed the United Nations (UN) announcement to extend the Kuwait-based peace talks for one more week, in a statement on behalf of the participating Houthi delegation on Sunday.
He also proposed a framework for a solution to the crisis in the war torn country. Under this plan, new talks would then be convened on forming a government that would include the Houthis, delegates said.
The Gulf Cooperation Council for Arab States (GCC) expressed deep concern over the latest step by the Houthis and followers of Ali Abdullah Saleh, who signed an agreement to form a political council, in the Republic of Yemen.
Al-Mikhlafi said Houthis were using the peace talks to legitimize their coup.
“What was presented by the (UN) envoy was no more than just ideas for a solution to the security aspect, subject to debate like other proposals”, a statement from the rebel delegation in Kuwait said.
The government of President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi has demanded that rebels withdraw from all territories gained since conflict erupted in September 2014, when Houthi fighters seized the capital, Sana’a, after years of complaints about alleged discrimination against them by the government.
The Saudi-led coalition has disputed reports by rights groups that it is imposing a blockade on Yemen, saying it facilitates the passage of humanitarian aid without delay and in “record time”.
The deal also abolishes the controversial supreme political council set up jointly by the Huthis and the General People’s Congress of former president Saleh on Thursday to run the country, he said. ‘In the case that the Yemenis reached an agreement, we will be the first to adopt it and strive to implement it, ‘ he said.
“This is a clear violation of the Yemeni constitution” as well as Resolution 2216, he said in a statement released in Kuwait.
U.N.-sponsored talks between the rebels and representatives of Hadi’s government, which began on April 21, have failed to make headway.
The war has killed over 6,400 people, mostly civilians, and displaced over two million residents.
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Meanwhile, a police officer was killed on Saturday when a bomb blew up his vehicle in Yemen’s second city Aden, a security official said.
