Saudi-Omani delegation arrives in Yemen to negotiate permanent ceasefire

Saudi and Omani delegations have arrived in Yemen’s capital for peace talks it is hoped will end the country’s years-long conflict.

The envoys travelled to Sanaa to negotiate a permanent ceasefire deal with Iran-aligned Houthi officials to bring the country’s eight-year conflict to an end.

The delegations and the Houthi Supreme Political Council will discuss “lifting the siege with all its repercussions”, an end to aggression, and the restoration of the Yemeni people’s rights, including paying the salaries of all state employees from oil and gas revenue, the Houthi-run news agency Saba said.

They are also set to discuss lifting a Saudi-led blockade on Yemeni ports.

If an agreement is reached the parties could announce it before Islam’s Eid holiday starts on 20 April, two sources involved in the talks told Reuters.

The talks in Sanaa run parallel to the UN peace efforts.

Peace efforts have also gained momentum after arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to reestablish ties in a deal brokered by China.

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It comes as Saudi Arabia released over a dozen Houthi rebel war prisoners in exchange for a Saudi prisoner.

The release was part of a UN-brokered deal that Yemen’s warring parties struck last month.

It includes the release of nearly 900 prisoners from both sides, said Abdul-Qader el Murtaza, a Houthi official in charge of prisoner exchange talks.

One of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters

The Houthis seized Sanaa and much of the country’s north in 2014, ousting the internationally recognised government that fled south and then into exile in Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi-led coalition intervened months later in an attempt to restore the internationally recognised government to power.

The conflict has descended into a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran in recent years and has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians – according to UN estimates – and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, with 80% of Yemen’s population dependent on humanitarian aid.