Al-Mukalla, Yemen
The Yemeni government’s delegation to peace talks focused on the southwestern city of Taiz demanded on Saturday that the United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg denounce the Iran-backed Houthis for rejecting proposals to end the siege of Taiz and threatening to undermine the UN-brokered truce. Ali Al-Ajar, a member of the government delegation, said the international community’s lenient stance would only encourage the Houthis to refuse to lift their siege of the city, which began in 2015.
“He should push for the implementation of his proposal and name and shame the party that rejected it,” Al-Ajar told Arab News. “His policy of holding the stick from the middle will not lead to any solution.”
Grundberg initially propose the opening of a main road and four secondary roads around the city in Amman, during the latest round of talks on Taiz between the government and the Houthis.
The government delegation, which had previously insisted that the Houthis lift their siege of Taiz immediately, accepted the proposal, while the Houthi delegation requested time to discuss it with their leaders in Sanaa. .–AN
