Yemen rebels reject UN peace plan

Kuwait City - Agence France-Presse

Supporters of the Houthi movement take part in a demonstration in Sanaa, Yemen July 28, 2016. REUTERS photo

Yemen rebels on July 31 rejected a peace plan proposed by the United Nations which had already been accepted by the government, saying that any settlement must first tackle a unity administration.

"What was presented by the (UN) envoy was no more than just ideas for a solution to the security aspect, subject to debate like other proposals," a statement from the rebel delegation in Kuwait said.

The statement cited by the rebel-run news agency charged that the Yemeni government announcement of a draft settlement was "no more than media stunts" aimed at foiling talks.

The Iran-backed rebels reiterated their long-standing demand that a peace deal must first forge an accord on a new consensual executive authority, including a new president and government.

This condition is an explicit demand for the removal of the internationally recognised president, Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

However, the rebel delegation still welcomed UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed's proposal to extend the talks for another week.

Earlier on July 31, Hadi's government said it accepted the UN-proposed plan stipulating that the Huthi Shiite rebels must withdraw from the capital Sanaa and two major cities which they overran in September 2014.
 
According to the government, the draft peace deal proposed by the UN envoy requires the rebels to hand over heavy arms before the start of a political dialogue on a final solution.
   
he conflict in the Arabian Peninsula country has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since then, according to UN figures.
 
More than 80 percent of the population urgently needs humanitarian aid.