“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”, the rebel delegation said in a statement from Kuwait, adding that the draft agreement was only a “media stunt”.
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The announcement by the government came after a high-level meeting in Kuwait’s capital chaired by Yemen’s President Aberabbo Mansour Hadi.
The meeting approved a draft agreement by the United Nations that called on the Houthis to withdraw from the Yemeni capital Sanaa, as well as the cities of Taiz and Hodeida, which would pave the way for a comprehensive political dialogue to start 45 days after the signing of the agreement.
One pre-condition, however, is that the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh sign the deal by August 7.
Hadi’s exiled government is backed by a military coalition of Gulf states including Saudi Arabia and the UAE in a conflict against Shiite rebels, who overran the Yemeni capital in late 2014.
A handout picture released by Kuwait’s ministry of information on July 17, 2016, shows the United Nations special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (C), speaking during a meeting of the Yemeni Peace Talks with delegations in Kuwait City.
In one of the worst flare ups in fighting since peace talks began, warplanes of a Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government bombed Houthi fighters from Yemen seeking to infiltrate Saudi Arabia on Saturday, killing tens of Houthi militiamen, security sources said.
Worldwide ambassadors stationed in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, said they were concerned by the new alliance, calling it in a statement “not consistent with commitments and good faith in pursuing a peaceful resolution under the auspices of the U N” The UN had urged all parties to engage positively and effectively in the Kuwait talks in order to reach a sustainable solution quickly.
The Saudi-led military coalition says seven Saudi border guards, including an officer, have been killed in a cross-border clash with militants from Yemen.
The civil war, ground battles and airstrikes have already killed more than 6,400 people, half of them civilians, injured more than 35,000 others and displaced over two millions, according to humanitarian agencies.
Hadi’s government has used the main southern city, Aden, as a temporary capital since it was recaptured from the Huthis past year.
The rebels angered the Yemeni government last week by announcing the formation of a 10-member “supreme council” to run the country – which the foreign minister branded a “new coup”.
Under the proposed peace deal, that council would be abolished and all rebel decisions since they occupied Sanaa would be rescinded.
“This council will govern the country as a presidential council and in accordance with the country’s constitution and laws”, Saleh.
But the authorities have struggled to secure the port city, which has seen a string of bombings and assassinations by the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda.
A vehicle packed with explosives blew up elsewhere in Aden without causing casualties, said another official.
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The jihadist rivals have exploited the turmoil to boost their activities in the impoverished country on the tip of the Arabian Peninsula.
