Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 14 November 2019
Saudi Arabia, Yemen’s Houthi rebels in indirect peace talks

By AHMED AL-HAJ ple, destroyed Yemen’s in-
MAGGIE MICHAEL frastructure, displaced mil-
Associated Press lions, and pushed the coun-
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — try’s 30 million people into
Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s one of the world’s worst hu-
Iran-backed rebels are manitarian crises. However,
holding indirect, behind- it remains to be seen how
the-scenes talks to end the future peace talks could
devastating five-year war shape a post-war Yemen,
in Yemen, officials from deeply fragmented along
both sides have told The many fault lines during the
Associated Press. conflict.
The negotiations are taking Last week, a senior Saudi
place with Oman, a Gulf official told a group of re-
Arab country that borders porters in Washington that,
both Yemen and Saudi “there is a sense that we
Arabia, as mediator. Oman need to move to resolu-
has positioned itself as a tion of this conflict.” He said
quiet mediator in the past the ongoing talks are also
and in a possible sign the focusing on prisoner ex-
back-channel talks could changes between the war-
be stepping up, Saudi Dep- ring sides.
uty Defense Minister Prince There are signs all involved
Khalid bin Salman arrived in In this Sept. 21, 2019 file photo, Shiite Houthi tribesmen hold their weapons as they chant slogans in the fighting are seeking
Muscat on Monday. during a tribal gathering showing support for the Houthi movement, in Sanaa, Yemen. a way out. The United Arab
The two sides have com- Associated Press Emirates, a member of the
municated via video con- Saudi-led coalition, has
ference over the past two began in September, after interim goals, such as re- kingdom’s archrival. Riyadh tried to extricate itself from
months, according to Ga- a Houthi-claimed drone opening Yemen’s main has long feared the Houthis the conflict and last month
mal Amer, a negotiator for struck a key crude process- international airport in Sa- could establish an Iranian said it was pulling out of Ye-
the Yemeni rebels known ing plant in Saudi Arabia — naa, shut down by the Sau- presence along the Saudi- men, after spending years
as Houthis. They have also the world’s largest — and di-led coalition in 2016. Also Yemen border. financing and training mili-
talked through European dramatically cut into glob- under discussion is a buffer These talks could pave the tias and separatist political
intermediaries, according al oil supplies. The United zone along the Yemen- way for more high-profile factions in southern Yemen.
to three Houthi officials. States blamed Iran, which Saudi border in areas under negotiations early next Talks between the Yemeni
Yemen remains a divided denied involvement. Houthi control. year, said one of the Houthi rebels and the Saudis are
country. The Iran-backed The attack laid bare the Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, a former officials. not new.
Houthis have controlled the vulnerability of Saudi Ara- Yemeni foreign minister, All officials, with the excep- The two sides struck a
capital, Sanaa, and much bia’s oil installations and told the AP from Oman that tion of Amer and al-Qirbi, cease-fire in 2016 after a
of the north since 2014. The appears to have propelled the Saudis’ main concerns spoke on condition of ano- meeting in the southern
Saudi-led military coalition, Riyadh toward negotiating include dismantling the nymity because they were Saudi region of Asir but the
which entered the war in an end to the increasingly Houthis ballistic and drone not authorized to talk to truce later fell apart. Amer,
2015, is fighting on behalf costly war. The kingdom capabilities and the king- reporters on backchannel the Houthi negotiator, says
of Yemeni President Abed has also faced a growing dom’s border security. negotiations. an exchange of messages
Rabbo Mansour Hadi and backlash against its role in The Saudis are looking for The recent rapprochement between the two sides nev-
his internationally recog- the Yemen war, including assurances the Houthis will — if materialized — could er stopped and that they
nized government. from the U.S. Congress. distance themselves from put an end to a war that “kept a window open” for
The Oman-mediated talks The current talks focus on Shiite power Iran, the Sunni has killed over 100,000 peo- dialogue.q

At least 12 killed in Slovakia bus crash including children

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (1200 GMT) police and fire- but later lowered it to 12.
(AP) — A bus collided fighters said. The injured are treated in
with a truck in Slovakia on “At this moment, our nearby hospitals.
Wednesday, killing at least thoughts are with the par- Photos from the scene pub-
12 people and injuring at ents who lost their chil- lished by the police showed
least 17 more, officials said. dren,” Slovak President Zu- an overturned truck on the
Online news site tvnoviny.sk zana Caputova said. “We road surrounded by gray
reported that the bus was all hope that the number of stones it had been carrying
carrying high school stu- the victims won’t be rising.” as cargo and the bus on its
dents. Slovak Prime Minister Peter side in a roadside ditch.
Health Minister Andrea Pellegrini called it a “hor- The Arriva company said its
Kalavska, who was at the rible tragedy” and said he bus was traveling from Ni-
site, said four of the people was cutting short his visit to tra, near the scene of the
killed were children, but did Cyprus and heading to the accident, to the town of
not release their ages. scene. Jelenec. It didn’t say how
Firefighters, police and rescuers work the scene of a traffic ac- The accident occurred He offered his condolences many people were on-
cident involving a bus and a lorry on a road near the village in Nitranske Hrnciarovce, to the relatives of the vic- board. It said it is fully coop-
of Malanta near Nitranske Hrnciarovce, Slovakia, Wednesday about 100 kilometers (60 tims. erating with the rescuers.
Nov. 13, 2019. miles) east of the capital Firefighters originally put Further details were not im-
Associated Press Bratislava at around 1 p.m. the number of dead at 13 mediately available.q