Sana’a: Yemen’s president on Tuesday offered the Saudi capital Riyadh as a possible venue for the resumption of UN-sponsored talks with Al Houthi rebels who have seized Yemen’s own capital Sana’a.
President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi made the offer during a meeting with tribal leaders from the southern Abyan province, according to two participants and an aide to the president who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
They said Hadi offered the headquarters of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh as an alternative venue if the Al Houthi rebels continue to oppose moving the talks from Sana’a, which has been under their control since September, to either Aden or Taiz in the south.
Hadi has been based in Aden since last month, when he escaped house arrest in Sana’a. He remains popular in the once-independent south, which is not under the control of the northern-based rebels.
The Iranian-backed Al Houthis are almost certain to reject moving the talks to Riyadh given Saudi Arabia’s opposition to their power grab in its southern neighbour.
The GCC comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. It was a GCC plan that forced Hadi’s predecessor, longtime autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh, to hand over power following an Arab Spring-inspired uprising.
Hadi called for the relocation of foreign embassies to Aden, as several GCC members and European nations have done already. The US ambassador to Yemen met with the embattled Hadi in Aden on Monday, reflecting Washington’s continuing support for the president.
Ambassador Matthew Tueller, the first Western diplomat to visit Hadi since he fled Sana’a, said Hadi is the “legitimate” leader of Yemen.
The General People’s Congress party of ousted strongman Saleh, who is widely accused of backing the militia, has warned that it will boycott any talks held outside Sana’a.
The Al Houthis meanwhile suffered heavy casualties in clashes with Al Qaida militants in the central Bayda province south of Sana’a, according to security officials and residents. They said at least 25 Al Houthi rebels were killed at three different locations in the province. They said at least seven militants were killed in the fighting that erupted early on Tuesday.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
