Yemeni president sends delegation to resolve crisis with Houthi rebels

Yemen President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi yesterday sent his political adviser Abdul-Karim Al-Iryani and the Secretary of the capital Sanaa, General Abdul-Qader Hilal to meet with the leader of the Shia Houthi insurgents group, Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi in the province of Sadaa, in northern Yemen, a government official reported.

This is the second initiative by the Yemeni president to meet with Al-Houthi to solve the current crisis.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Anadolu news agency that “the envoys carried a draft agreement to end the crisis between the Yemeni authorities and Houthi group”.

He explained that the draft includes the formation of a national unity government and a reduction of 500 riyals ($2.3) in the price of a gallon of diesel if the Houthi rebels agreed to disperse the armed camps they set up outside the capital Sanaa and end their sit-ins in the city centre.

According to the official, the group seems to have agreed to the terms of the proposal, however they oppose to dispersing the sit-ins until the new unity government is formed. The envoys are believed to have been sent to Sadaa to discuss the terms with the group’s leader.

A presidential commission formed by the Yemeni president, headed by Ahmed Obaid Bin Daghar failed, last month, to reach an agreement with the Houthi group leader to end the crisis after three days of negotiations.