ISTANBUL

The head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, on Sunday called for holding a donor conference to rebuild the war-torn country.

"We seek to arrange an Arab and international meeting to rebuild Yemen in coordination with the Saudi-Emirati-led coalition and the Gulf Cooperation Council," Al-Alimi said in a speech at the Cairo-based Arab League.

Al-Alimi accused Houthi rebels of violating a UN-brokered truce in Yemen by refusing to reopen roads in areas under their control.

On Friday, Al-Alimi started an official visit to Egypt where he met with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

On June 2, Yemen’s warring rivals agreed to extend the UN-brokered truce for two additional months. Under the truce, which was first reached on April 2, all military operations were halted. The agreement also allowed the operation of commercial flights from rebel-held Sanaa Airport in the Yemeni capital.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since September 2014, when Iranian-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to restore the Yemeni government to power.

The eight-year conflict has created one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with millions suffering from hunger.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara