Saada Houthis Exclude their Coup Partners from Sanaa Talks

Arab World

April 13th, 7:00am

Sanaa - Asharq Al-Awsat

Part of the meetings of the Saudi and Omani delegations with the Houthis in Sanaa (AFP)

A state of anger prevails among Yemeni political leaders who are nominally partners with the Houthis after they have been excluded from the consultations led by the Saudi and Omani delegations, according to political sources in Sanaa. Saudi and Omani delegations arrived in Sanaa last Sunday for talks with Houthi officials seeking a permanent ceasefire. They aimed to finalize the draft of a peace agreement to expand the truce and include new items such as paying public wages, unifying the currency, and establishing a negotiating path that ends the conflict. The sources confirmed that leaders of the General People's Congress and other officials were not pleased that they were not included in the meetings. Photos from the meetings showed the Saudi and Omani delegations in the Republican Palace in Sanaa with Houthi representatives from Saada and another official. During past meetings in the Palace, the group excluded the head of its coup government, Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, its foreign minister, Hisham Sharaf, its parliament speaker, Yahya al-Ra'i, and leaders from other parties. It showed that the Houthi officials from Saada controlled the group and seized most of its financial resources. Activists and Congress party members criticized senior leaders, demanding a response from the officials who were excluded from the meetings. Partisan activists in Sanaa asserted that the Houthi "Saada wing" controls the group's decisions, adding that these leaders do not believe in dialogue and do not accept national partnership. Congress party member and lawmaker Abdulrahman Saleh Maazeb strongly criticized the group's move against its allies, noting that the party leaders were excluded from the reception of the Saudi and Omani delegations, even if only formally, despite being the group's equal partners. Activists loyal to the group in Sana' expressed their deep dissatisfaction with the "deliberate exclusion" of Sanaa leaders and coup partners from attending the talks. One of the politicians loyal to the group addressed its Saada leaders in a statement, saying they have proven their "racism and regionalism." Yemeni activists expressed their disapproval of the militia's exclusion of other "active" leaders and coup partners, such as the head of the coup government, the leader Abdulaziz bin Habtoor, the head of the Congress-Sanaa wing, Sadiq Amin Abu Ras, the coup's foreign minister Hisham Sharaf, the coup speaker, Yahya al-Rai, and the head of the coup's advisory council, Mohammad al-Aidarous. Local reports indicated that the Houthi militia prevented the Foreign Minister of its unrecognized government, Hisham Sharaf, was also excluded from the meeting. Instead, the deputy minister Hussein al-Ezzi, regionally affiliated with Saada and a descendant of the Houthi leader, attended the talks.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/4270451/saada-houthis-exclude-their-coup-partners-sanaa-talks