Yemeni president, Shia rebels agree to hold talks

Sanaa, Jan 6 (IANS/EFE) Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and leaders of the Shia Houthi militia Ansar Allah have agreed to hold a dialogue to end their differences and implement a power-sharing agreement they signed in September, media reported Tuesday.

The Houthi rebels, who have controlled the northern province of Saada since 2010, extended their domains to other regions in 2014 and forced the government to resign in September.

In recent months, however, the Houthis have been meeting fierce resistance from Al Qaeda's Yemeni affiliate and other Sunni Muslim groups and clans.

Earlier, Hadi had sent seven presidential advisors to Saada, in a bid to ease tensions, as the Houthi movement continues its military expansion in the capital and elsewhere in Yemen.

The advisors met on with Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi and agreed to form a joint committee tasked with proposing a solution to the current standoff, Xinhua reported citing the SANA news agency said.

The agreement signed in September under the sponsorship of the UN, stipulates that the Houthis will be allowed to share power in return for the withdrawal of its fighters from the capital and other major cities.

However, the Houthis have not pulled back and continue to advance in the south and west of the country, where they are currently in control of seven provinces.

Observers note that the Houthi advance may trigger clashes between the movement's militia and Sunni tribes in the oil-rich province of Mareb, situated some 118 miles east of Sanaa.

--IANS/EFE

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