Houthi rebels meeting for the first time in Saudi

Saudi Arabian officials said publicly on Thursday that they are in talks with pro-Iranian Houthi rebels in Yemen. Due to this, a solution is being found to the civil war in Yemen that has been going on for years. Houthi leaders have held a meeting in Saudi with the aim of stopping the war that has been going on for 9 years. This is the first meeting of Saudi officials and Houthi rebels, who are seen against each other on every platform.

More than 3 lakh people have died in Yemen due to the war in Yemen and its consequences. Many lakhs of people have also become homeless. Even before the Saudi army reached Yemen, the economy there had already deteriorated due to the conflict between the Houthis and the Yemeni people. The situation here became worse after Saudi intervention.

What was discussed in the meeting?
According to Saudi's Al Akhbariya channel, a Saudi team had visited Sana'a in the month of April. Its purpose was to find a solution to the political situation in Yemen. After the visit of this team, a meeting was also held between Houthi rebels and Saudi officials in the Saudi capital Riyadh. In the meeting, discussions were held on ending the ongoing war in Yemen and overcoming the situation created due to the war. At the beginning of the year, Saudi had asked the Yemeni delegation to visit the kingdom.

Commenting on the meeting, the head of the Houthi rebels, Mahdi al-Mashat, said: “Our delegation will go to Riyadh for the meeting. Peace was and still is our first option. Everyone must work to achieve this.

Recently, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia came to India for the G20 Summit. While returning from here he met Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman. After this meeting, Houthi leaders reached Saudi by plane from Oman. Oman has been trying to end the conflict in Yemen for a long time.

How did the Yemen war start in 2014?
Civil war started in Yemen in the year 2014. Its roots lie in the Shia and Sunni dispute. In fact, 35% of the total population of Yemen belongs to the Shia community while 65% belongs to the Sunni community. According to the Carnegie Middle East Center report, there was always a dispute between the two communities, which turned into civil war when the Arab Spring began in 2011. By 2014, Shia rebels opened a front against the Sunni government.

This government was led by President Abdrabbhu Mansour Hadi. Hadi seized power in February 2012 from former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who had been in power for a long time after the Arab Spring. The country was going through a period of change and Hadi was struggling to bring stability. At the same time, the army split and the separatist Houthis mobilized in the south.

In the race for dominance in Arab countries, Iran and Saudi also jumped into this civil war. On one hand, Houthi rebels got support from Shia dominated country Iran. So the government of Sunni majority country Saudi Arabia. Within no time, the rebels known as Houthi captured a large part of the country. In 2015, the situation had become such that the rebels had forced the entire government into exile.

What America could not do, China did!
Saudi Arabia and Iran are two important powers in continuing the war that has been going on in Yemen for 9 years. While the government of Yemen is supported by Saudi, the Houthi rebels are supported by Iran. In such a situation, if talks take place between Iran and Saudi and their relations improve, then it was definitely considered to have an impact on the war in Yemen.

On March 11, an important agreement was signed between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing, the capital of China. Which China got done. After 2016, both had agreed to reopen their embassies in each other's country. This reduced the conflict that had been going on for seven years between the two countries. In fact, seven years ago Saudi Arabia initiated a trial against 32 Shia Muslims on charges of spying for Iran. Of these, 30 were citizens of Saudi Arabia only. Iran had threatened to take revenge. All of them are in jail.

Subsequently, Saudi Arabia sentenced three Iranian citizens to death on drug smuggling charges. Both countries reached the brink of war. During this time America came to help Saudi.

According to the report of The Intercept, after coming to power in America, President Joe Biden had promised to end Yemen's civil war within two years. Which China has completed. The report said that due to its policy of supplying arms, America no longer had such an image in the Middle East that it could be considered capable of establishing peace. Which China has taken advantage of. By brokering an agreement between Saudi and Iran, China opened the way to end the war in Yemen.