Saleh, who still heads the influential General People’s Congress party, calls for UN-brokered Saudi-Yemeni talks to be held in Geneva
AFP
Sanaa
Yemen’s influential former president urged his rebel allies yesterday to heed UN demands to withdraw from territory seized in months of fighting, so Saudi-led air strikes can end and reconciliation begin.
Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still holds sway over army units allied with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who now control large swathes of the country, had welcomed this month’s Security Council resolution as a way to “stop bloodshed” in Yemen.
More than 1,000 people have been killed in the fighting since late March, according to the UN.
The conflict has sent tensions soaring between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which backs the Houthis.
Saleh, in a statement read on his Yemen Today television channel, said: “I call on (the Houthis) to accept all UN Security Council decisions and to implement them in return for a halt in the coalition forces’ aggression.”
“I urge them and everyone—militias and Al Qaeda as well as militias loyal to (President Abd-Rabbu Mansour) Hadi—to withdraw from all provinces, especially Aden,” the main southern city where fighting has raged between rival forces.
The Saudi-led coalition, which began an air war on rebels and their allies on March 26, announced an end to that campaign on Tuesday in favour of seeking a political solution, but strikes have continued.
Saleh, who still heads the influential General People’s Congress party, called for UN-brokered Saudi-Yemeni talks to be held in Geneva.
He proposed that all provinces be handed over to “the army and security apparatus under the control of local authorities in each province”.
And he called “on all parties without exception... to talk and show forgiveness. I will forgive everybody in the interests of the nation.”
With international pressure mounting for a political solution, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has announced plans to appoint Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as his new envoy to Yemen.
He would replace Moroccan Jamal Benomar, accused by Gulf countries of having been duped by the Houthis who held peace talks while pressing their offensive for more territory.
The Houthis had swept into the capital in September from their northern stronghold, and later advanced south on the major port of Aden, forcing President Hadi to flee to Riyadh last month.
The capital remains in their hands while Al Qaeda has exploited the instability to seize more territory in the largely lawless southeast.
Iran vehemently denies arming the rebels and has presented a peace plan to the UN calling for a ceasefire and the formation of a unity government.
Meanwhile, coalition air strikes have continued unabated.
Warplanes hit a camp housing rebels in third city Taez yesterday, residents said, after a night of clashes and raids throughout the country.
Aden also came under coalition fire as clashes between Hadi supporters and rebels raged until dawn, pro-government militiamen said.
Residents in the eastern province of Marib also reported overnight air strikes and clashes between local tribesmen and rebels.
Air raids yesterday struck rebel convoys, including tanks, in the southern Abyan province, leaving several dead and wounded, said pro-Hadi militiamen.
There were also strikes on nearby Daleh, local officials said, adding that coalition warplanes destroyed a bridge linking the central province of Ibb and Shia-majority Dhammar farther north to cut off rebel supplies.
The UN says millions have been affected by the Yemen conflict and are struggling to access healthcare, water, food and fuel.
“The toll on civilians has been immense,” UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Yemen Johannes Van Der Klaauw said.
The UN’s human rights agency said yesterday at least 551 of the people killed were civilians.
