Qatar hails Saudi initiative to ensure peace in Yemen

By Serdar Bitmez and Muhammed Semiz

DOHA, Qatar (AA) - Qatar on Thursday welcomed Saudi Arabia’s initiative to end nearly six years of war in Yemen.

“Qatar welcomes the peace initiative launched by Saudi Arabia to establish a cease-fire in Yemen and Saudi efforts to find a political solution that will end the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people,” Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said on Twitter after speaking by phone with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan.

The top Saudi diplomat on Monday suggested a UN-supervised cease-fire between Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels, who are supported by Iran, the reopening of Sana’a International Airport and the start of negotiations.

Yemen has been ravaged by violence and instability since 2014, when Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sana’a.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with 30 million people accounting for 80% of the population needing humanitarian assistance and protection.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara