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| Arabia | |
| Yemen’s leader suggests Riyadh for dialogue with rebels | |
| 2015-03-04 | |
| Sanaa -- Yemen’s president on Tuesday offered the Saudi capital Riyadh as a possible venue for the resumption of UN-sponsored talks with Houthi rebels who have seized Yemen’s own capital Sanaa. President Abed Rabbu Mansour Hadi made the offer during a meeting with tribal leaders in Aden, where he has been based since fleeing house arrest in Sanaa last month, according to two participants and a presidential aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media. They said Hadi offered the headquarters of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh as an alternative venue if the Houthi rebels continue to oppose moving the talks from Sanaa, which has been under their control since September, to either Aden or Taiz in the south. Hadi remains popular in the once-independent south, which is not under the control of the northern-based rebels. The Iranian-backed Houthis are almost certain to reject moving the talks to Riyadh given Saudi Arabia’s opposition to their power grab in its southern neighbour.
The Houthis meanwhile suffered heavy casualties in clashes with Al Qaeda militants in the central Bayda province, according to security officials and residents. They said at least 25 Houthi rebels were killed at three different locations in the province. They said at least seven militants were killed in the fighting, which erupted early on Tuesday. Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula said on its Twitter account that it carried out four simultaneous attacks on Houthi houses and posts overnight. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |