“The negotiations have completely ended”, said Abdullah al-Olaimi, deputy director of the president’s office and a member of the government delegation.
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Vast swathes of war-torn Yemen – 19 out of 22 governorates – are facing severe food insecurity, and the situation within affected areas is likely to deteriorate if conflict persists, according to a new assessment by the United Nations and partners.
According to the Yemeni presidential official, the UN-proposed roadmap didn’t address any political topics before completing its implementation and ending the ongoing military conflict in the country.
It would now be replaced by a “High Political Council” comprising 10 members equally divided between the Houthis and GPC to “manage the country’s affairs” in all political, military, economic and administrative spheres.
More than 6,400 people have been killed in the Arabian Peninsula state since the Saudi-led coalition intervened in March a year ago in support of Hadi’s government.
Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the agreement, which was made on Thursday, gravely violated UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls on the Houthis “to refrain from further unilateral actions that could undermine the political transition in Yemen”.
The UN-brokered Yemen peace talks have been extended for one week following a request by the UN special envoy, the foreign ministry of host nation Kuwait said yesterday.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed, however, did not say if the rebels’ move would result in the suspension of the peace talks.
“There can be no more talks after the new coup”, delegation spokesman Mohamed al-Emrani said on Friday.
A truce that began alongside the talks has slowed the momentum of fighting, but violence continues nearly daily.
The statement cited by the rebel-run news agency charged that the Yemeni government announcement of a draft settlement was “no more than media stunts” aimed at foiling talks.
Also on Saturday, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition – which is fighting to reinstate Mr Hadi’s government – bombed Houthis trying to infiltrate Saudi Arabia from Yemen, killing tens of militiamen.
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The Houthi rebels captured Sanaa in September 2014 and expanded their control to other parts of Yemen, advancing on Hadi’s temporary headquarters in the the southern city of Aden and forcing him to flee to Saudi Arabia. There have been expectations that the talks would focus on the movement’s decision on forming a presidential council to take over the reins in Yemen.
