Yemenis 'disappointed too many times' amid new push for peace

Hopes are being kept in check despite a flurry of moves to end eight years of devastating civil war

A Yemeni boy carries his bag of new garments at centre in Sanaa distributing clothes to children who have lost a parent in the conflict. AFP

In Yemen's besieged city of Taiz, residents say they are “not optimistic” about the prospects for peace despite a concerted push to end more than eight years of civil war.

Officials from Oman and Saudi Arabia, which supports the internationally recognised government, have met leaders of the Iran-backed Houthi group in Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, this week to discuss a long-term truce and launching a political process to end the conflict.

On Friday, the warring sides are scheduled to exchange hundreds of prisoners in a major step towards building mutual confidence.

Yet residents of Taiz are feeling “less hopeful than they have in a long time,” said Nassim Al Odeini, a humanitarian worker in the southern city.

“I spend my days in the field,” Mr Al Odeini, 32, told The National. “In the besieged areas, where the roads are closed, residents who usually cling to every thread of hope are not optimistic this time around,” he said.

“We've been disappointed too many times.”

The UN's special envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said the talks in Sanaa were “a real opportunity to start an inclusive political process” and “the closest Yemen has been to real progress towards lasting peace,” but some Yemenis are unsure what a successful result might mean for them.

The political situation in Yemen has been complicated “to the point that we don't even know what's in our best interests any more”, said Abdullah Ali Zubain Al Masri, a father of three from Marib, who had just returned home after being displaced by fighting.

“I would be happy with any political solution although we've rarely seen the impact of any previous initiatives on the ground,” Mr Al Masri, 45, told The National.

Previous peace efforts hosted in Stockholm, Kuwait, Geneva and Amman have brought no tangible change for him and his family, he said.

For hundreds of families though, the exchange of 887 detainees between the warring sides, brokered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), will bring a “much awaited moment of relief”, said Hisham Al Omeisy, a conflict analyst who was once a prisoner of the Houthis.

These families “were left wondering for years if they will ever see their loved ones again,” Mr Al Omeisy said.

The three-day exchange will involve a flight to transport prisoners from Sanaa to Riyadh on the second day.

Prominent Yemeni names such as Nasser Mansur Hadi, brother of Yemen's former president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, former defence minister Mahmoud Al Subaihi and Mohammad Saleh, brother of National Resistance leader Tareq Saleh, are on the list of detainees to be handed over by the Houthis.

Twenty-three Saudis and three Sudanese civilians will also be released from the Houthi side, according to Hamed Ghalib, a member of the National Resistance, which was involved in the negotiations with the Houthis.

Mr Al Omeisy said he hoped future exchanges would include former colleagues at the US embassy and in the UN.

Yemeni sources have said that a potential six-month truce would entail eventually releasing all prisoners of war.

While this would remove one major obstacle to a peace deal, some Yemenis remain sceptical about reconciliation among local warring parties.

“There's a great relief for me and many others — we're all looking for peace and we're tired of the war. But we don't have faith that internal struggles among different factions will be resolved once the Houthis and Saudi Arabia make peace,” said Hashem Khaled, a resident of Sanaa.

“The war itself has left a huge amount of animosity between sides with strong and varied religious and political beliefs. I believe those issues are more complicated than to just resolve with the flick of a pen and a signature.”

Meanwhile, the momentum of the latest peace effort continues to build.

On Tuesday, US special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking travelled to the Gulf to meet Saudi, Yemeni and international allies, as National Security adviser Jake Sullivan offered Washington's full support for the peace initiative in a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Yemen has been at war since the Houthis took over Sanaa in 2014. A Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict on behalf of the government in March 2015.

Saudi Arabia's engagement with the Houthis comes amid a rapprochement with Iran, which has supplied the Houthis with weapons during the war.