Yemen warring parties discuss forming security committees: UN enovoy

The UN special envoy to Yemen said Wednesday that warring parties have discussed forming security committees to oversee a transition period aimed at ending Yemen’s conflict, which began with Saudi airstrikes in March 2015.

"Discussions continued on security and military issues, including the details of military and security committees," Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.

The remarks come as representatives of Yemen’s Ansarullah movement and delegates loyal to the Saudi-backed resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, held the latest round of the ongoing UN-brokered talks in Kuwait.

Meanwhile, Mohammed Abdulsalam, head of the Ansarullah delegation, has said that the Houthis would reject any deal that does not include their input on the makeup of the transitional body.

"Any deal that does not meet our demands of forming a consensual authority... will be rejected," Abdulsalam told Yemeni media late Tuesday.

He also said that any deal on the president, the national unity government, and military and security committees should include Ansarullah movement’s endorsement.

The main sticking point in the ongoing talks between rivals remains the form of the government that would oversee a transition back to normalcy once a peace accord is reached.

The UN envoy has frequently called on the warring parties to “make concessions in order to strike a comprehensive peaceful solution” to the conflict.

SS