Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Off Alaska Coast. No Danger to California

18 hours ago

Federal Immigration Crackdown Threatens California’s Historic Housing Reforms

22 hours ago

US House Clears Procedural Hurdle on Cryptocurrency Legislation

22 hours ago

Fresno County Lifts Evacuation Order for Max Fire Near Pine Flat Lake

23 hours ago

Newsom Calls Trump a ‘Son of a B***h’ Over ICE Raids and Guard Deployment

24 hours ago

Trump Indicated to Republican Lawmakers He Will Fire Fed’s Powell, CBS Reports

1 day ago

Wall Street Steadies as Investors Assess Inflation Data, Earnings

1 day ago

Trump Administration Sued by US States for Cutting Disaster Prevention Grants

1 day ago

Open Mic Contest Offers Fans a Chance to Perform at Outside Lands 2025

1 day ago

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

2 days ago
Expectations Low as Yemen's Warring Parties Meet for Talks
By admin
Published 7 years ago on
December 5, 2018

Share

CAIRO — Yemen’s warring parties will meet in Sweden this week for another attempt at talks aimed at halting their catastrophic 3-year-old war, but there are few incentives for major compromises, and the focus is likely to be on firming up a shaky de-escalation.
U.N. officials say they don’t expect rapid progress toward a political settlement but hope for at least minor steps that would help to address Yemen’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
Both the internationally-recognized government, which is backed by a U.S.-sponsored and Saudi-led coalition, and the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels say they are striving for peace. A Houthi delegation arrived in Stockholm late Tuesday, accompanied by U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths. The government delegation and the head of the rebel delegation were heading to Sweden on Wednesday.
Confidence-building measures before the talks included a prisoner swap and the evacuation of wounded rebels for medical treatment. The release of funds from abroad by Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to pay state employees in rebel-held territory is also in the works.

De-Escalation and Starting the Political Process

Yemeni scholar Hisham Al-Omeisy, who has written extensively about the conflict, said the talks would focus on “de-escalation and starting the political process.”

“I’ve heard many say that this is a country on the brink of catastrophe. This is not a country on the brink of a catastrophe. This is a country that is in a catastrophe.”David Beasley,executive director of the U.N.’s World Food Program
“It’s not much, but given the humanitarian situation and toxic political atmosphere currently prevalent in Yemen, it’s better than nothing.”
The conflict began with the Houthi takeover of the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen in 2014. The Saudi-led coalition went to war with the rebels the following March.
The war has claimed at least 10,000 lives, with experts estimating a much higher toll. Saudi-led airstrikes have hit schools, hospitals and wedding parties, and the Houthis have fired long-range missiles into Saudi Arabia and targeted vessels in the Red Sea.
The fighting in Yemen has generated the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. The executive director of the U.N.’s World Food Program, David Beasley, said Tuesday that 12 million people suffer from “severe hunger.”
“I’ve heard many say that this is a country on the brink of catastrophe,” Beasley said. “This is not a country on the brink of a catastrophe. This is a country that is in a catastrophe.”
The mounting humanitarian needs, and outrage over the killing of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, have galvanized international support for ending the war. The United States has called for a cease-fire and reduced some of its logistical aid for the coalition. Iran has also signaled support, urging all sides “to have constructive and responsible participation in the talks.”

Previous Peace Efforts Have Failed

But previous peace efforts have failed, with neither side willing to compromise.
Saudi Arabia is unlikely to tolerate what it views as an Iranian proxy on its doorstep, and the Houthis have little incentive to withdraw from the capital and other territories they have captured and held at great cost. Other armed groups taking part in the chaotic civil war, including southern separatists and local militias, will not be taking part in this week’s talks.
At the same time, the two main parties could see the other as weakened, tempting them to make maximalist demands. Saudi Arabia has come under heavy U.S. pressure since the killing of Khashoggi, and the Houthis are under intense financial strain.
The impasse is on vivid display in Hodeida, a Red Sea port city where Yemen imports 70 percent of its food and humanitarian aid. Forces backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been trying to capture the city for months, but have been held off by rebels dug in on its outskirts, with neither side willing to back down.
The fighting in and around Hodeida killed nearly 1,500 civilians last month alone, and has displaced at least 134,000 families since June, according to the U.N. office for humanitarian aid.
In an appeal from Yemen, the regional director of the U.N. agency for children called for an immediate end to the years-long war.

Yemen Today Is a Living Hell for Millions of Children

“Yemen today is a living hell for millions of children … there is only one message to those who are gathering today in Sweden. That is the message of peace for this brutal war … for that war to stop now,” said UNICEF’s Geert Cappelaere.

“Maybe there’ll be some more exchange of prisoners or some progress on the economy, but I don’t think the Houthis will leave Hodeida peacefully. They believe they have a powerful card there.” — Baligh al-Makhlafy, a Yemeni pro-government analyst
Cappelaere spoke after a visit to a hospital in the southern city of Aden where he met with child patients. He said 7 million children in Yemen go hungry to bed every night.
One idea likely to be discussed at the talks is a proposal for the rebels to hand over Hodeida to some type of U.N. administration. The two sides might also discuss further prisoner releases.
But the Houthis are unlikely to agree to withdraw from territory or lay down their arms, as the Yemeni government has repeatedly demanded. And Hadi’s administration is unlikely to agree to a power-sharing arrangement that would grant the Houthis a larger role in government, which was one of the original aims of the rebellion.
“I don’t expect much from this round,” said Baligh al-Makhlafy, a Yemeni pro-government analyst attending the talks as a technical consultant. “Maybe there’ll be some more exchange of prisoners or some progress on the economy, but I don’t think the Houthis will leave Hodeida peacefully. They believe they have a powerful card there.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Christopher Michael Asher

DON'T MISS

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

DON'T MISS

Tulare Police: We Have No Role in Federal Immigration Raids

DON'T MISS

Wall Street CEOs See Some Tariff Impact Filtering Into Customer Behavior

DON'T MISS

US House Poised to Send Stablecoin Bill to Trump After ‘Crypto Week’ Drama

DON'T MISS

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

DON'T MISS

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Irrigation District Pitches 137% Fee Hike for More Kings River Flood Water

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Is Ending Government Funding California’s High-Speed Rail Project

DON'T MISS

Bakersfield Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty in $25 Million Fraud Scheme

UP NEXT

Bahrain to Announce $17 Billion in US Deals During Trump Talks

UP NEXT

Crush at Gaza Aid Site Kills at Least 20, GHF Blames Armed Agitators

UP NEXT

Israel Strikes Damascus as Fighting Rages in Southern Syria

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

Mexico Pledges Action Should US Talks Fail by August Tariff Deadline

UP NEXT

Is US Democracy Threatened? Majority of Californians, Including Republicans, Say Yes

UP NEXT

US Ambassador Asks Israel to Investigate Death of US Citizen in West Bank

UP NEXT

US Senator Seeks Safety Reforms After Fatal Collision Between Army Helicopter, Regional Jet

UP NEXT

PBS and NPR Mount Last-Ditch Fight to Save Federal Funding

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Under Mounting Political Pressure After Party Quits

Wall Street CEOs See Some Tariff Impact Filtering Into Customer Behavior

59 minutes ago

US House Poised to Send Stablecoin Bill to Trump After ‘Crypto Week’ Drama

1 hour ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

1 hour ago

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

2 hours ago

Fresno County Irrigation District Pitches 137% Fee Hike for More Kings River Flood Water

3 hours ago

Trump Says He Is Ending Government Funding California’s High-Speed Rail Project

16 hours ago

Bakersfield Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty in $25 Million Fraud Scheme

16 hours ago

Congressional Hopeful Lorenzo Rios Says No to PBS Funding. Once Led Local Station

17 hours ago

US Attorney Beckwith Dismissed by Trump Admin, Replaced With Sanchez

17 hours ago

Trump Says He Would Love for Fed Chair Powell to Resign

17 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Christopher Michael Asher

July 17, 2025 Most Wanted Person of the Day Suspect Name: Christopher Michael Asher Suspects Date of Birth: July 9, 1966 Physical Descriptio...

3 minutes ago

Christopher Michael Asher is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for July 17, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
3 minutes ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Christopher Michael Asher

Former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison poses for a booking photograph at Shelby County Detention Center in Shelbyville, Kentucky, U.S. September 23, 2020. Picture taken September 23, 2020. Shelby County Detention Center/Handout via REUTERS.
17 minutes ago

US Seeks One-Day Sentence for Police Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Case

27 minutes ago

Tulare Police: We Have No Role in Federal Immigration Raids

The U.S. flag is seen on a building on Wall St. in the financial district in New York, U.S., November 24, 2020. (Reuters File)
59 minutes ago

Wall Street CEOs See Some Tariff Impact Filtering Into Customer Behavior

1 hour ago

US House Poised to Send Stablecoin Bill to Trump After ‘Crypto Week’ Drama

Maurene Comey, Assistant U.S. Attorney and prosecutor on Combs' case, arrives at the Federal courthouse during the Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial at U.S. court in Manhattan, in New York City, U.S., May 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Manhattan Prosecutor Who Handled Epstein Cases Is Fired

Sheep Graze Next to Kettleman City Solar Farm
2 hours ago

Why California Ag Is at Odds Over Converting Land to Solar Farms

3 hours ago

Fresno County Irrigation District Pitches 137% Fee Hike for More Kings River Flood Water

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend