The leader of the popular Ansarullah movement has met in Sana'a with an official delegation from Oman which is mediating for a face-saving Saudi exit from the Yemen quagmire.
During the meeting in the Yemeni capital Sana’a on Monday evening, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi discussed humanitarian issues and other areas of concern with the Omani delegates, al-Masirah television network reported.
The Ansarullah leader also extended his gratitude to Oman's ruler Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said for his wise positions on Yemen.
Earlier in the day, Mahdi al-Mashat, the president of the Supreme Political Council of Yemen, met with members of the Omani delegation and thanked the Sultanate of Oman for his efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people resulting from the Saudi war and siege.
“We are working to advance arrangements on the humanitarian question as well as the peace process,” Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam said.
The United Nations has repeatedly warned that millions of men, women and children in Yemen are facing famine, and appealed for more money to prevent it.
According to the UN, 80 percent of Yemen’s 30 million people need some form of aid or protection.
About 13.5 million Yemenis currently face acute food insecurity, including 16,500 people living in famine-like conditions, UN data shows.
UN officials are trying to revive peace talks to end the conflict as Yemen's suffering has been compounded by the Saudi economic blockade and the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘Saudi-led coalition seeking dignified exit'
Prime Minister of Yemen's National Salvation Government Abdulaziz bin Habtoor told Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television that Saudi Arabia has lost the war, and is indeed looking for a face-saving exit from the Yemen quagmire.
He said the visit of the Omani delegation to Sana’a is meant to improve Yemen's situation both on the ground and at the international scene.
“The aggressor countries have lost the battle, and they want to redress part of their lost prestige. They know it is impossible to defeat the Yemeni nation, so they have no option but to exit the Yemeni quagmire,” Habtoor said.
“Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the ones who direct their missiles and weapons at us with the support of the United States. Washington and others are looking for a good way out, and of course Oman is a mediator in this regard,” he said.
Oman has hosted United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths and US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking in recent weeks.
Saudi Arabia, backed by the US and regional allies, launched a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of former Yemeni president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah.
Yemeni armed forces and allied Popular Committees have, however, gone from strength to strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.
The Saudi war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. The war has also destroyed Yemen's infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases across the country.