Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz shakes hands with Britain’s Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in Riyadh yesterday.

AFP
Riyadh


Saudi-led military operations in Yemen are nearing their end as the focus turns to political talks, Britain’s foreign minister said in Riyadh yesterday.
“We detect the military phase of this campaign is coming to a close as the coalition forces have established a dominant military position in the country,” Philip Hammond told reporters after talks with King Salman and leading members of the royal family.
He said they focused on the need “for now accelerating the political discussion” and ensuring the Houthi rebels and their allies engage in “serious and sensible” talks.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed,  said on Friday the Houthis and backers of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh had “clearly committed” to carrying out Security Council Resolution 2216.
Adopted on April 14, it calls for a negotiated withdrawal by the rebels from Yemen’s key cities and a surrender of all heavy weapons to the state.
The UN envoy said the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had agreed to send a delegation to the forthcoming negotiations, for which no date has been set.
Previous attempts to hold negotiations collapsed but Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said: “We’re optimistic that the talks will lead somewhere.”
At a news conference with Hammond, Jubeir also said military action appeared to be heading towards a conclusion.
The Houthis, backed by Iran, overran Sanaa in September 2014 and went on to seize control of several regions, aided by elite forces loyal to Saleh.
Riyadh formed the Arab coalition and began air strikes in Yemen in March, later sending in ground troops to support local forces.
In July the anti-rebel forces pushed the Houthis from five southern provinces but the rebels still hold the capital.
Nearly 5,000 people have been killed in the war, more than half of them civilians, according to UN estimates.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed told the Security Council that the people of Yemen faced a “catastrophic” situation, with up to 21mn – 80% of the population - in need of humanitarian aid.
A coalition naval blockade has prevented vessels from bringing fuel supplies to Yemen, with drastic effects on hospitals in particular, Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.  
But Jubeir told reporters the kingdom “has taken steps to facilitate entry of humanitarian aid”, with about 20 ships off Yemen’s Red Sea coast.
Hammond said he was “pleased to hear this morning during our discussions detail about the opening up of the Red Sea ports” for commercial traffic.
This would allow food, fuel and other essentials as well as humanitarian aid, Hammond said.
Military sources said yesterday the coalition has dropped arms and ammunition to pro-government fighters in the besieged city of Taez.
Coalition planes “parachuted three shipments of arms and ammunition to help our fighters in southwest Taez,” a source said, adding they included RPG launchers and a variety of weapons.