Yemen govt delegation heads to Sweden for peace talks with Houthis

A delegation from Yemen’s Saudi-backed government left for Sweden on Wednesday to hold UN-sponsored peace talks with representatives of the Houthi group. The team representing the internationally recognized government of Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi left from the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh for the consultations, the first since 2016, according to a Yemeni official. Western allies have ramped up pressure on Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, leaders of the coalition battling the Houthis to restore Hadi’s government. Outrage over the October 2 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s Istanbul Consulate has refocused attention on the Yemen war and scrutiny over Saudi Arabia’s activities in the region, Reuters said. The Houthi delegation arrived for the talks in Sweden on Tuesday, having failed to turn up for the last round of talks in September in Geneva.