Yemen’s exiled president rejects UN peace plan

Zakaria al-Kamali

SANAA, Yemen (AA) – Yemen's exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi has rejected a proposed UN peace plan for resolving the conflict in the war-torn Arab country, according to a Yemeni presidential source.

Hadi on Saturday met with UN peace envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed in Saudi capital Riyadh.

“He refused to receive the UN peace plan during the meeting,” the source told Anadolu Agency, requesting anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to media.

Hadi said the plan “legitimizes the Houthi coup”, the source said, in reference to the Shia Houthi group, which overran the capital Sanaa and other provinces in 2014.

Last week, Ould Cheikh said he had handed over the roadmap to Yemen’s warring parties with a view to reaching a political solution in Yemen, which has been wracked by conflict for two years.

Sources close to Houthis said the plan marginalizes Hadi’s future role in Yemen.

Under the proposed plan, Hadi would transfer his powers to a consensual vice president, who would have the authority to form a unity government, according to the sources.

In April, the government and the rebels entered UN-sponsored peace talks in Kuwait which failed to produce a breakthrough.

More than 6,900 people have been killed and another 3 million forced to leave their homes since the conflict erupted in late 2014.

The conflict escalated in March when a Saudi-led air campaign sought to reverse the Houthi gains.