Omani envoys arrive in Yemen to negotiate permanent ceasefire

An Omani plane carried the delegation accompanied by the Houthi chief negotiator, Muhammad Abdul-Salam, and other Muscat-based Houthi delegates.

The Omani envoys are expected to negotiate a permanent ceasefire deal with Houthi officials, sources have told Reuters, building on an expired UN-brokered truce agreement.

“By God's grace and success, we and the Omani brothers, the brotherly Omani delegation, arrived today in the capital, Sanaa, in continuation of our efforts to achieve a just peace. It is an ongoing process, whether in the context of the meetings that took place in Muscat or Sanaa,” Abdul-Salam said upon arrival at Sanaa airport.

“Our just demands are: stopping the aggression completely, lifting the blockade completely, paying the salaries of all Yemeni employees from oil and gas revenues for all Yemeni employees, as well as the exit of foreign forces from Yemen, compensations and reconstruction,” he added.

Following their arrival, the Iran-aligned Houthi movement said it received 13 detainees released by Saudi Arabia in exchange for a Saudi detainee freed earlier, ahead of a wider prisoner exchange agreed upon by the warring sides.

The Houthis have since 2015 been battling a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

At talks in Switzerland last month attended by the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Yemen's Saudi-backed government and the Houthis agreed to free 887 detainees.

A visit by Saudi officials would indicate progress in Oman-mediated talks between Riyadh and the Houthis, which run in parallel to UN peace efforts, as well as a reduction in tensions after Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to restore relations.

Reuters