That demand has been rejected by Mr Hadi’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia that includes the UAE. The talks with the Yemeni parties focused on the envoy’s vision for an integrated and comprehensive solution to the crisis in Yemen, and a proposal for extending the Kuwait talks for a short period.
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Sources from the two delegations told AFP the proposed settlement is based on the withdrawal of rebels from territory they occupied in 2014, the handover of weapons and a return of state institutions.
He had requested the extension in a letter to the Government of Kuwait, the host of the peace talks, and met with Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, to review the latest developments and the plans for the coming days.
Those talks have been stalling amid fundamental disputes over the agenda.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed, however, did not say if the rebels’ move would result in the suspension of the peace talks.
Yemen’s Shiite rebels have announced a formal alliance with the country’s ousted president and his onetime ruling party by forming a new political council to rule the country. The Houthis have countered with demands for a share of power in any new government.
“We call on the global community to condemn the new coup against constitutional legitimacy and to hold the Houthi-Saleh alliance responsible for foiling the talks”, he said.
The agreement proposed by the United Nations envoy includes clauses on both the Houthis and Saleh forces laying down arms, withdrawing for the Yemeni capital Sana, as well as the cities of Taiz and Hudaydah, and creating a military committee responsible for overseeing the process, the Sky News Arabia channel reported.
The rebels have “missed an opportunity for peace which the Yemeni people needed. and insisted on foiling the negotiations”, Mikhlafi said on his Twitter account.
They did not name the council s members.
Yemen s Foreign Minister Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi said the rebels announcement amounted to a “new coup”.
The main stumbling block at the talks in Kuwait has been the form of the government in Sanaa.
But it was unclear if the insurgents were ready to end their occupation of the capital, which they have refused to cede despite a more than year-long military campaign by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
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More than 6,400 people have died and over 6.8 million have been displaced after former President Ali Abdullah Saleh was displaced in 2012.
