AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s government has pulled out of peace talks with Iran-backed Houthis in Jordan in protest over the latest deadly attacks by Yemeni militia on Taiz, the official news agency reported.
Assigned under the UN-brokered truce to engage in talks with the Houthis on truce violations, the government’s military announced the boycott of the Amman meetings after the Houthis repeatedly attacked the densely populated city, leaving dozens of combatants dead or wounded and further undermining efforts to bolster the truce and end the war peacefully.
The committee said in a statement that the Houthis attempted to close the only lifeline road connecting the besieged city of Taiz with Aden and continued violating the truce by launching explosive-rigged drones, ballistic missiles and assembling military reinforcements across the country.
The committee has decided to boycott talks with the Houthis “until further notice.” On Monday, at least ten government soldiers were killed and seven wounded, and 23 Houthis were killed and 30 wounded, in heavy clashes outside Taiz after the Houthis assaulted government troops west of Taiz with mortar rounds before attempting to seize control of the only road under the government’s control.
According to local officials and residents, the Houthis launched another assault on the western entrance to Taiz on Monday night, inflicting casualties on government troops stationed along the Al-Dhabab Road.
Yemeni officials said that the Houthis attempted to blockade the city, even as the joint committee in Amman was discussing de-escalation and alleviating the suffering of thousands of people in Taiz. Abdul Basit Al-Baher, a Yemeni military officer in Taiz, told Arab News on Tuesday that the Houthis “unprecedently” attacked Taiz, resulting in the highest number of casualties among government troops since the truce began on April 2.
“Under heavy fire cover, the Houthis hysterically attacked us,” Al-Baher said, adding that the Houthis gathered new military reinforcements, including fighters, outside Taiz coming from Ibb province. “They want to close the remaining artery where food, humanitarian aid and children’s milk go through.”
At the same time, Yemen’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Awadh said that he discussed the situation with the US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, and the head of the EU delegation to Yemen, Gabriel Vinals, calling for more action to stop the Houthis from endangering the lives of Yemenis.
“I warned about the Houthis trying to block the only way linking the city to Aden. I demanded the condemnation of these aggressive acts and to exert the utmost pressure on Houthis to stop their violations,” Awadh told the US envoy during a phone call.
