Mohammed Abdulsalam, the spokesman of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement has rejected an initiative put forth by US Secretary of State John Kerry to resolve the crisis in the war-torn country.
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On Saturday, a statement from the exiled government carried by the Saba news agency said: “The government is prepared to deal positively with any peaceful solutions…including an initial welcoming of the ideas resulting from the meeting in Jeddah that included the foreign secretaries of the USA, the United Kingdom and Gulf states”.
Houthi supporters and activists posted photographs on social media showing lifeless bodies of children and charred remains in the aftermath on the attack. The Houthis are backed by army units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The U.N. and rights groups estimate at least 9,000 people overall have died.
The Yemen war has killed more than 6,500 people and displaced some 3 million.
Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, pro-Hadi forces have since managed to reclaim large swathes of the country’s south – including provisional capital Aden – but have failed to retake Sanaa and other strategic areas.
The coalition says it seeks to restore the internationally-recognized government in Sanaa, after Houthis captured it in 2014 and forced the government to flee overseas.
The continuous air campaign came amid a flurry of meetings between Kerry, Saudi King Salman and other key players that focused on Yemen and Syria.
The Arab coalition has also stepped up its air raids in Yemen since the peace talks collapsed.
Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch Kristine Beckerle told AP that through its continued arms sales to Saudi Arabia, the U.S.
“A roadmap was presented that consists of several sets of principles, details of sequencing and timelines”, Dujarric told reporters at United Nations headquarters in NY on Friday.
Saudi soldiers load an artillery piece at a position close to the Saudi-Yemeni border. Those photos have not been made public.
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Kerry said on Thursday the Houthis must cease shelling across the border with Saudi Arabia, pull back from the capital Sanaa, cede their weapons and enter into a unity government with their domestic foes.
