politicodiary

As anticipated, the Houthis have rejected to participate in the proposed GCC peace talks in Riyadh, a confirmed report has said. The talks are to fall between end of March and beginning of April. Mediated by Jordon, this is the latest Gulf Cooperation Council offer to broker comprehensive peace talks between the warring factions. But as anticipated, the Houthis are not interested in ending the war in Yemen, Middle East’s most poor country at the moment. Hundreds of Yemeni politicians, activists, civil society leaders, and even outspoken politicians have been invited to the conference with the single aim of brokering a peaceful resolution to the whole problem. Apparently, Houthis already have preset demands to be met. They have asked the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen should first look at easing alleged restrictions on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah seaport. Till then, they intend to reject holding peace talks in Riyadh.    Meanwhile, the government has positive...

In the longest struggle against terrorism, The UN Security Council has finally announced the Yemeni Houthis as a terrorist organization, extending their arms embargo. With this, the council has actually expanded the existing arms embargo on Yemen as it adopted a draft resolution that now targets the leaders of the Houthi militia, including Abdulmalik Al-Houthi, to encompass the entire membership of the Iran-backed group. Houthis have been known to loot humanitarian aid apart from indulging in crimes against humanity. With this resolution, many other restrictions and changes follow. For one, financial sanctions and a travel ban on senior members of the Houthi militia remains renewed for an additional year. It also labels the Houthis as a terrorist group for the first time, following an ongoing series of cross-border drone and missile attacks targeting some key Middle Eastern nations apart from a wide range of violations affecting the Yemeni people and the international community. ...