Yemen: Huthi rebel wounded in "confidence-building measure" ahead of peace talks

The war broke out in Yemen since early 2015, when the Huthis dominated much of the country | AFP

A United Nations plane is expected to evacuate wounded Huthis in Yemen in a confidence-building effort ahead of peace talks, the Saudi-led military alliance said in Yemen.

Fifty people from the capital Sanaa, controlled by the Houthis, will be taken to Oman for treatment late Monday.

UN-sponsored peace talks between the Huthis and the Saudi-backed government are expected to begin in the coming days.

The war in Yemen has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in recent times.

In nearly four years of war, thousands of people have been killed and millions of others are on the verge of famine.

"A United Nations plane will arrive at Sanaa International Airport on Monday to evacuate 50 wounded fighters, three Yemeni doctors and a UN doctor from Sanaa to Muscat," said Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the military alliance last night.

He added that the move came at the request of the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffith, and was approved as a confidence-building measure ahead of talks in Sweden.

The organization is trying to revive peace talks between the government led by President Abdurbo Mansour Hadi and the Iranian-backed Houthis, who control much of northern Yemen.

A previous round of talks in Geneva failed in September when the Houthis refused to attend.

Why the war in Yemen?

The war, which broke out in early 2015, devastated Yemen, when the Houthis took control of most of the western parts of the country and forced President Hadi to leave the country.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have angered the rise of the group, which they consider an agent for Iran, and have intervened with seven other Arab states in an attempt to bring the Yemeni government back to power.

There are serious concerns about the suffering of thousands of civilians trapped in the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeidah.

At least 6,660 civilians have been killed and 10,560 injured in the fighting, according to UN figures, while thousands of other civilians have died for avoidable causes, including malnutrition and disease, and deteriorating health.

In October, the World Health Organization warned that 10,000 new cases of suspected cholera were reported every week in Yemen.