Yemen accepts UN peace deal

Kuwait City : Yemen’s government yesterday accepted a UN-proposed plan to end fighting that has left thousands dead.

The announcement by the Saudi-backed government came after a high-level meeting in Riyadh chaired by Yemen’s President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

The draft agreement, which follows several months of UN-brokered negotiations in Kuwait, stipulates that the Huthi rebels must withdraw from Sanaa.

The proposed peace deal replaces a roadmap previously proposed by UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed that stipulated the creation of a unity government including the insurgents, which was rejected by Hadi’s government.

Under the new plan, a political dialogue between various Yemeni factions would start 45 days after the rebels withdraw and hand over heavy weapons to a military committee to be formed by Hadi.

Prisoners of war would also be freed.

The government’s acceptance came after a high-level meeting in Riyadh chaired by Hadi.

“The meeting approved the draft agreement presented by the United Nations calling for an end to the armed conflict and the withdrawal (of rebels) from Sanaa” and other cities they have seized, said a statement.

According to sources close to the delegates in Kuwait, the government accepted the deal following pressure from Saudi Arabia, which wants to corner the rebels and show they are unwilling to accept a political solution.