Ansarullah: Yemen's Hudaydah Should Be ‘Neutral Zone’

Hudaydah should be declared a neutral zone, Abdulsalam, the main negotiator of Houthi group, told Reuters on Saturday on the sidelines of peace talks underway in Sweden with forces loyal to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Houthis control major population centers in Yemen, including the capital Sana’a and the western port city of Hudaydah on the Red Sea.

Abdusalam also said his group was open to the possibility of giving the United Nations a role at Sana’a airport as part of an effort to get it reopened.

The main negotiator further called for the formation of a transitional government with the participation of “all political parties”.

Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and forces loyal to Hadi are meeting for a third day of talks in Sweden aimed at halting the Saudi-backed war on the impoverished Arab country.

The talks opened Thursday on an upbeat note, with the warring sides agreeing to a broad prisoner swap, boosting hopes that the talks would not deteriorate into further violence as in the past.

Some 8.4 million Yemenis are facing starvation as a result of the Saudi-led aggression, although the United Nations has warned that will probably rise to 14 million.

Three-quarters of impoverished Yemen’s population, or 22 million people, require aid.