Country to hold UN-brokered peace talks in Doha

onnaedo

March 24, 2015 11:34 AM

The move is following the Yemeni government appealed to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for military assistance.

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Following the escalating crisis in Yemen, the United Nations has said that the country will hold peace talks in Doha aimed at resolving the situation.

The move is following the Yemeni government appealed to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for military assistance.

The GCC is an alliance of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE and Oman; and its Peninsula Shield Force boasts about 40,000 troops and has a permanent base in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.

According to Al Jazeera, a day after warning the UN Security Council that Yemen was on the brink of civil war, Jamal Benomar announced on Monday that talks between the Yemeni parties would take place in the Qatari capital, and that any agreement reached would be signed in Riyadh.

Reacting to Yemeni's call for help, Prince Saud Al Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, said that his country would "take necessary measures if needed" to protect Yemen's sovereignty.

Houthis, who allegedly have the support of Iran, took over the democratically elected government headed by Hadi in February and appointed Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a cousin of the group's leader, as the new president.

The GCC countries have since lined up to support Hadi and have moved their embassies to Aden to back Hadi against the group.

The embattled Hadi, who is also backed by Western states, has been struggling to reassert his authority since escaping house arrest and fleeing to Aden last month.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have continued to seize more parts of the country and on Saturday took control of parts of the strategic city of Taiz, as they pushed further south towards Hadi's hide-out in Aden.

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