UN envoy steps up contacts with Yemen rebels, govt

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The visiting United Nations Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths met a Yemeni rebel leader in Sanaa Saturday and will follow up with talks with Yemen's government in Riyadh, a UN source said.

In a possible breakthrough despite skepticism on the government side, the envoy has said he has opened a dialogue with Houthi rebel officials on "how the UN could contribute to keeping the peace" in the key port city of Hodeida.

The UN source said Griffiths will hold talks on Monday in the Saudi capital, where Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and other officials have taken up residence.

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For its part,Yemen's Houthi rebels agreed to attend the upcoming peace talks in Sweden during the talks with Griffiths the same day.

"Griffiths received affirm confirmation from the revolution to support peace efforts and attend peace talks," Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, head of Houthi revolutionary committee, said in a statement.

A girl carries cans to fill them up with drinking water at a camp sheltering displaced people from the Red Sea port city of Hodeida near Aden, Yemen, November 12, 2018. /VCG Photo

On Wednesday, Griffiths arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa to push for the upcoming peace talks in Sweden in December between the Iran-aligned Shiite Houthi rebels and pro-government forces backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.

But no date has yet been set for the negotiations.

The UN-recognized government had not yet received "any information from UN envoy Martin Griffiths about the talks in Sweden and what is to be discussed," Rajeh Badi, a government spokesman, said Friday.

"They (Houthis) will not let go of their weapons. They would tell us: 'You're dreaming if you think we're going to disarm,'" the spokesman told reporters.

Griffiths, however, struck a positive note on Friday during his first trip to Hodeida.

"I am here to tell you today that we have agreed that the UN should now pursue actively and urgently detailed negotiations for a leading UN role in the port," he added.

Hodeida, the main Red Sea port city which handles 80 percent of Yemen's imports and aid, has witnessed deadly clashes over the past few weeks between the government troops backed by the Saudi-led coalition forces and the Iran-allied Houthi rebels.

The United Nations said it will try to protect the vital Hodeida port from "potential destruction," as the country lies on the brink of a devastating famine.

(With inputs from agencies)