Houthis, Saudis begin talks to end Yemen war

Cairo/Dubai: Houthis and authorities in Saudi Arabia have begun talks to try to end Yemen's war, two officials said, in what appears their most serious bid to end war.
A delegation from Yemen's Houthi movement is in Saudi Arabia, they said, in the first visit of its kind since the war began last year between Houthi forces and a military coalition.
The reported talks coincide with an apparent lull in fighting on the Saudi-Yemen border and in Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes on the Houthi-held Yemeni capital Sanaa.
The United Nations says nearly 6,000 people have been killed in Yemen's fighting. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced.
The two senior officials from the administrative body that runs parts of Yemen controlled by the Houthis said the Houthi visit to Saudi Arabia began on Monday at the invitation of Saudi authorities, following a week of secret preparatory talks.
The Houthi delegation in Saudi Arabia is headed by Mohammed Abdel-Salam, the Houthis' main spokesman and a senior adviser to Houthi leader Abdel-Malek Al Houthi, the officials said. Abdel-Salam previously led Houthi delegates in talks that paved the way for UN-sponsored talks in Switzerland last year.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting to restore President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi to power could not immediately be reached for comment. A Saudi foreign ministry spokesman could also not be reached.