Houthi calls for peace could end years of bloody conflict

The Houthi rebels have offered to halt attacks on Saudi Arabia sources said as UN envoy for Yemen said the move could end years of bloody conflict destroying the two nations.

In a statement on Saturday, Martin Griffiths said the Houthis initiative is “in good faith could send a powerful message of the will to end the war,” Al Jazeera reports. 

The rebel Houthis in Yemen control the capital Sanaa and other parts of the nation have been in a bloody conflict with Saudi Arabia.

Though the Houthis claimed the attacks, the United States concluded te missiles used in attack were from Iran.

On Friday night, the Houthis have come forward to propose a cessation of hostilities by all sides. 

“We declare ceasing to target the Saudi Arabian territory with military drones, ballistic missiles and all other forms of weapons, and we wait for a reciprocal move from them,” Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi’s supreme political council said.

“We reserve the right to respond if they fail to reciprocate positively to this initiative,” he said, adding that the continuation of the Yemen war “will not benefit any side”.

The leader called upon on parties in the conflict to “engage in serious negotiations”.

The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people along with pushing millions to the brink of famine.

Responding to Houthis peace call, Saudi Arabia cautiously responded saying: “We judge other parties by their deeds, actions and not by their words, so we will see whether they actually do this or not.”

“It was done with Iranian weapons, therefore we hold Iran accountable for this attack,” Al-Jubeir told at a news conference.

“The kingdom will take the appropriate measures based on the results of the investigation, to ensure its security and stability.”

He added: “We are certain that the launch did not come from Yemen, it came from the north … The investigations will prove that.”