Saudi FM calls Indian, Pakistani counterparts to discuss developments    Al Hilal thrash Gwangju to reach AFC Champions League Elite semi-finals    Saudi Arabia cracks down on fraudulent Hajj campaigns, urges pilgrims to use official channels    Nammos Amala Resort to open soon with Saudi-Greek designs    Saudi Arabia completes 674 Vision 2030 initiatives, achieves 93% of KPIs as ninth-year milestone marked    Literature Commission inaugurates Saudi Pavilion at Muscat Book Fair    Saudi Minister of Culture holds talks with his Costa Rican counterpart in Jeddah    Alkhorayef praises advancements in Al-Kharj food industries sector    MHRSD: 80% of recruitment offices are non-compliant with regulations    At least 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza    Teenage girl killed in French school stabbing attack    Trump claims meeting with China after Beijing denies any trade negotiations    GACA chief chairs 16th meeting of the Steering Committee on aviation's strategy    Saudi Theater Commission launches its Work and Learn Project in UK    The season has begun — and one comment shook us all    Jennifer Lopez dazzles in Jeddah with a Formula 1 performance    Saudi Arabia open to expanded 64-team World Cup in 2034, says sports minister    Average life expectancy in Saudi Arabia rises to78.8 years    Film Commission launches 'Cinema' initiative to enhance content    Famed Philippine film star Nora Aunor dies at 71    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Veteran Bollywood actor Manoj Kumar dies at 87    Bollywood actress vindicated over boyfriend's death after media hounding    Grand Mufti rules against posting prayers and preaching in mosques on social media    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Houthis told to lay down arms as talks begin
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 16 - 12 - 2015

Yemen's Prime Minister Khaled Bahah on Tuesday called on Houthi rebels to lay down their weapons as a ceasefire in his war-wracked country came into force and UN-brokered peace talks began in Switzerland.
"We need to restore the country," Bahah said in the Qatari capital Doha. "We need the Houthis to surrender their weapons and arms and leave the government institutions to restore legitimacy."
Bahah was delivering a speech at Qatar University coinciding with the start of a seven-day ceasefire as UN-brokered peace talks opened in Switzerland.
Limited violations of the truce were reported shortly after a ceasefire began at midday (0900 GMT), with several mortar rounds hitting government forces in the southwestern province of Taiz, according to a Yemeni security official.
The Saudi-led coalition, which launched an air war against the Houthi rebels and their allies in March, said the ceasefire had started as scheduled following a request by Yemeni President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi. The rebel forces, who control the capital, have yet to say if they will abide by the truce.
The UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, hailed the halt in fighting as "a critical first step towards building a lasting peace in the country."
He said that the talks in Switzerland "seek to establish a permanent ceasefire and pave the way for a return to a peaceful and orderly political transition."
UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi confirmed that the talks had begun at an undisclosed location.
"The UN-sponsored consultations aimed at finding a durable settlement to the Yemen crisis started today in Switzerland," he told reporters.
"These consultations seek to establish a permanent and comprehensive ceasefire, secure improvements to the humanitarian situation and a return to a peaceful and orderly political transition," he added.
Fawzi said 12 negotiators and six advisers made up each of the two delegations taking part in the talks.
Ahead of the truce, clashes shook the flashpoint city of Taiz and coalition warplanes bombed rebel positions.
Even after the ceasefire took effect, a Yemeni security official reported five mortars targeted pro-Hadi forces in Shuraija, south of Taiz.
The coalition has warned that it "reserves the right to respond in case of any violation."
Hadi has declared his government's intention to have a seven-day truce to coincide with the peace talks and to be "renewed automatically if the other party commits to it," the coalition said.
A Yemen presidential statement said the proposed ceasefire "comes out of keenness to grab any chance to achieve peace, to reduce the suffering of our people in Yemen and to end bloodshed."
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the warring parties in Yemen have promised it "unconditional movement" of supplies and medical teams under the UN ceasefire that came into effect throughout the war-torn country on Tuesday.
Nineteen trucks pre-loaded with medical supplies in Aden and Sanaa are due to begin moving later in the day to start distribution across Yemen, WHO representative Ahmed Shadoul told a news briefing in Geneva.
Some 150 metric tons of supplies in WHO's warehouse in Djibouti are expected to be shipped to Sanaa on Dec. 21 or 22, he said. From there, ships will take them to other Yemeni ports. "It depends on access, we will plan more if access is really granted. This is just a test," he said.


Clic here to read the story from its source.