Yemen factions in UN talks on political deadlock

Sanaa: Political factions are to hold fresh UN-brokered talks Thursday on Yemen’s political deadlock, a day after a deadline set by the Shiite militia in control of Sanaa expired, UN envoy Jamal Benomar said.
Benomar’s announcement came after a four-hour meeting of several parties which are opposed to the Shiite Houthi militia failed to propose a solution to the crisis.
On Sunday, the Houthis set a three-day deadline for the parties to resolve a power vacuum since President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khalid Bahah offered to resign last month.
“We will resume meetings” on Thursday, Benomar told reporters. “As a UN representative, I can only accept a peaceful solution based on dialogue and negotiations.”
Representatives of the Sunni Al-Islah (reform) party — whose fighters have battled against the Houthis — and the socialist party of southern Yemen attended Wednesday’s meeting.
The Houthi deadline was set in a statement issued at the end of a three-day meeting attended by the party of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh but boycotted by the other major political movements.
The announcement was loudly applauded by thousands who took part in the forum, including tribal chiefs and officers in military uniform.
The Houthis seized the presidential palace and key government buildings on January 20, plunging the country deeper into crisis and prompting Hadi and his premier to tender their resignations.
The official Saba news agency reported that Benomar on Wednesday met with ambassadors of the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and Iran “as part of his efforts to resolve the crisis.”
Iran has long been accused of backing the Houthis, who descended from their base in Yemen’s north to overrun Sanaa.
Opponents have staged demonstrations against the Houthis in several cities under the slogan: “Revolt until the overthrow of the coup” forces.
Benomar has said Hadi and his cabinet are effectively under house arrest, warning that violence could erupt at any time.
The crisis has raised fears that impoverished Yemen, which lies next to oil-rich Saudi Arabia, could become a failed state.