Yemen's Houthi Leader Says US Provides Political Cover for Saudi Strikes

In his first published interview since the start of the civil war, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi told the Houthis' quarterly magazine his group was open to a peaceful solution of the conflict, in which at least 10,000 people have died.

"The United States plays a major role in the aggression ... including logistical support for air and naval strikes, providing various weapons ... and providing complete political cover for the aggression, including protection from pressure by human rights groups and the United Nations," he said.

The United States is a key ally of Saudi Arabia, which has come under fire from human rights groups over the airstrikes that have repeatedly killed civilians in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have intervened in the conflict in support of the fugitive former Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi. The Houthis say Hadi and Saudi Arabia are pawns of the West bent on dominating their impoverished country and excluding them from power.

UN-sponsored talks to try to end the fighting collapsed last month and the Houthis and allied forces loyal to former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh have resumed shelling attacks into Saudi Arabia, Yemen's large northern neighbor.

In his interview, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi said his opponents did not understand the meaning of real dialogue.

"The hurdle facing negotiations and dialogue is that the other party wants to achieve through the talks what it wanted to achieve through war, not understanding that the path of dialogue and peace is different to the path of war," he said, Reuters reported.

Last month US Secretary of State John Kerry said he had agreed in talks in Saudi Arabia with Persian Gulf Arab states and the United Nations on a plan to restart peace talks for Yemen with a goal of forming a unity government.

Both the Houthis and the fugitive former government have welcomed the idea of a return to talks since then.