Omani delegation in Yemen's Sana'a to mediate fresh truce between warring sides
Iran Press TV
Sunday, 09 April 2023 12:05 AM
An Omani delegation has arrived in Yemen's capital to broker a fresh truce between the country's Ansarullah popular resistance movement and a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, which has been waging a war against the impoverished country since 2015.
According to Yemen's official Saba news agency, the Omani delegates arrived on Saturday"to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing negotiations in Muscat with the leadership in Sana'a."
"A delegation from Oman has arrived in Sana'a to hold talks" with Ansarullah's leaders "about the truce and the peace process," a source at the capital's airport was quoted by AFP as saying.
Saudi Arabia and some of its allies began the invasion in March 2015, after Ansarullah took control of Yemen's affairs in the absence of a functioning government. The invaders have been seeking to restore Yemen's power to its former Riyadh-friendly officials.
Although, the coalition has failed to achieve any of its goals, the war has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis and turned the entire country into the scene of what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
A truce enter into force in Yemen last year, prompting the country to enjoy a six-month-long lull. The agreement, however, was not renewed after it expired on October 2.
The Yemeni news agency added that the Omani delegation was accompanied by Mohammed Abdulsalam, who is the chief negotiator of Yemen's National Salvation Government.
Abdulsalam tweeted that he had arrived in Sana'a with the Omani delegation, but did not give further details.
Abdulsalam said the Yemeni people's demands demands were just and included an end to the Saudi-led aggression, the total lifting of the blockade that the aggressors have been imposing on Yemen, and payment of the salaries of all civil servants using revenues from oil and gas.
He added that Yemen's demands also included "the exit of foreign forces ... compensation and reconstruction."
Another Yemeni source told AFP on condition of anonymity that the Saudis and Ansarullah have agreed in principle on a six-month-long truce to pave the way for three months of talks on establishing a two-year "transition" for the war-torn country.
Saudi Arabia frees 13 Yemeni prisoners
In a related development also on Saturday, Yemen's al-Masirah television network cited Abdul Qader al-Mortada, head of Yemen's National Committee for Prisoners Affairs, as saying that as many as 13 Yemeni prisoners had been freed by the Saudis and arrived in Sana'a in exchange for one Saudi released earlier.
At talks in Switzerland last month attended by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Yemen's Saudi-backed former officials and Ansarullah agreed to free 887 detainees.
"The detainees released today from Saudi prisons are part of the deal agreed via the United Nations, and next Thursday...the deal will be fully implemented," said al-Mortada.
Saudi Arabia and Yemeni officials agreed during talks in Switzerland last month, which was also attended by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to free 887 detainees.
The UN special envoy to Yemen has said the deal was one of several developments reflecting movement towards ending the eight-year conflict.
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