Saudi-led coalition to allow Yemen rebels’ evacuations – Britain

Britain has said the Saudi-led coalition has agreed to allow its adversary in Yemen, the Houthis Shiite rebels, to evacuate their wounded out of the country, AP reported. According to Britain’s Foreign Office, this is a “major development” that removes a key obstacle to peace talks for the war-torn country under United Nations’ auspices. Tuesday’s announcement follows Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The statement says that “subject to final reassurances, coalition forces will now permit the UN to oversee a Houthi medical evacuation including up to 50 wounded fighters to Oman ahead of another proposed round of peace talks in Sweden later this month.” Hunt said diplomacy remains the only way to end the conflict, which he called the world’s worse humanitarian crisis.