Houthi official proposes border truce with Saudi Arabia

SANAA (AA) – A senior Houthi leader on Sunday proposed to stop attacks along Yemen’s border with Saudi Arabia in exchange for halting the kingdom’s airstrikes.

“In exchange for halting the aggression [on Yemen] by land, sea and air, stopping airstrikes and lifting the blockade, [we will] stop combat operations along border,” Ali al-Sammad said in a speech cited by the Saba news agency.

Houthi rebels overran capital Sanaa in late 2014, forcing President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and his Saudi-backed government to flee to Riyadh.

The Houthi gains have prompted Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies to launch a massive air campaign in an effort to reinstate Hadi’s government.

In response, Houthis have carried out missile attacks on Saudi targets across border between the two countries.

Two rounds of UN-brokered peace talks failed to end the conflict, in which thousands of Yemenis have been killed and more than three million forced to flee their homes.