A plane carrying Yemeni political factions, which was grounded in Djibouti for several hours, has finally taken off for the Swiss city of Geneva where high-level talks are underway to find a solution to the ongoing conflict in the Arab country.
The Lebanon-based al-Mayadin TV on Monday cited informed sources in the United Nations, the main mediator in the Geneva talks, as confirming that the plane, which is carrying the Yemeni representatives at the talks, including those of the Houthi Ansarullah members, has left the Djibouti International Airport.
The development came as political delegations had reportedly decided to return to Yemen after they were faced with numerous obstacles in their way to attend the talks.
Earlier in the day, the plane was forced to land in Djibouti after Egypt denied it entry into its airspace. Sudan, another ally of Saudi Arabia in its current aggression against Yemen, also refused to give the Yemeni plane permission to fly over the country, reports said.
In a statement, Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam confirmed the departure and called for an explanation from the UN over the flight delay.
Sources close to Ansarullah delegation in Djibuti said that Saudi Arabia creates obstacles to the presence of Yemeni negotiators in the Geneva meeting in a bid to manipulate the outcome of the talks.
Delegation members on board the plane said some behind-the-scene elements do not want the Yemeni delegation to reach Geneva and attend the meeting.
“I think this delay has been deliberate and purposeful,” Mohammad al-Zubairi (shown below) said, referring to the negotiators representing Yemen’s fugitive President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
Another political figure said hampering the trip was meant to prevent Yemeni delegations from exposing the realities of the ongoing conflict in the Arab country.
“We hope we could reach a ceasefire in the negotiations … and answer all biased information the media of the enemy is propagating,” said Hassan Zayd (shown below), a member of Yemen’s al-Haq party.
The talks brokered by UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed aim to secure a ceasefire, and accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the war-racked Yemeni people.
In a statement issued early July, the UN urged all Yemeni parties “to engage in these consultations in good faith and without preconditions in the interest of all Yemeni people.”
However, the meeting, which was initially scheduled for May 28, was delayed after Hadi refused to attend the negotiations.
The UN-brokered peace talks come as Saudi Arabia continues its military aggression against the Yemeni people.
Riyadh launched a military campaign against its impoverished neighbor on March 26 – without a UN mandate- in an attempt to undermine the Houthi revolutionaries and restore power to Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Saudi Arabia.
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