Yemen Rebels Ready to Talk Without Saudi-Backed Leader

Yemen’s Houthi movement is ready to resume talks to resolve the country’s crisis if the Saudi-led military coalition stops airstrikes, though it won’t accept the kingdom-backed deposed president returning to power, a senior official said.

Ali al-Kahoum, a member of the political department of the Shiite Muslim group, said talks should be sponsored by a party that’s not involved in the military campaign in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia assembled a coalition of Sunni nations to face what its officials say is an Iranian proxy seeking to expand the influence of the Islamic Republic in the Middle East. Saudi and Gulf Arab officials have said the aim of the military campaign is to restore the rule of President Abdurabuh Mansur Hadi and force the Houthis to resume talks to resolve the crisis peacefully.

“We have always agreed to the principle of dialogue,” al-Kahoum said in a telephone interview. “But Hadi is completely out of the political scene. His legitimacy won’t be restored by planes or on the back of tanks.”

The Houthis advanced from their northern base to seize the capital Sana’a last year. As the crisis worsened and a United Nations-sponsored dialogue unraveled, Hadi announced his resignation. He later fled a house arrest imposed by the Shiite group and relocated to Aden before taking refuge in Saudi Arabia after his forces crumbled in the face of Houthi fighters and their allies.

Mediation Offers

Both Saudi Arabia and Iran have offered to mediate talks between Yemen’s warring factions. More than 500 people have been killed in the past two weeks, according to the UN.

Al-Kahoum didn’t rule out accepting renewed UN efforts to mediate and denied the group was imposing conditions by insisting on Hadi’s ouster.

“He is the one who resigned. He is finished,” he said.

The official also defended a decision to arrest dozens of members belonging to al-Islah party, a group that welcomed the Saudi-led campaign. Al-Islah said in a statement on its website that more than 100 members, including senior leaders, have been arrested.

“Security forces won’t show any tolerance toward those who act as agents to foreign powers,” al-Kahoum said. Al-Islah’s support of the Saudi-led bombing is a “national treason,” he said.

Russia on Saturday asked the UN Security Council to call for “humanitarian pauses” to the Saudi-led coalition’s air strikes so diplomats and civilians caught in the conflict could safely leave the country. Saudi officials called the measure unnecessary.