SANAA
Former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has proposed an "urgent initiative" aimed at ending the country's political crisis, which calls for halting military operations by both the Shiite Houthi group and an anti-Houthi Gulf coalition.
Saleh called on Yemen's warring camps to "return to the negotiating table in good faith under UN sponsorship."
The former autocrat also called for relocating the venue of peace talks to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or a local UN office "to continue discussing pending issues."
He also called for halting "all military operations" by the Houthi movement, the Saudi-led Gulf coalition, the Al-Qaeda group and "militias" loyal to embattled President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.
Fractious Yemen has been rocked by turmoil since last September, when pro-Houthi forces overran capital Sanaa, from which they have sought to extend their influence to other parts of the country as well.
Several Arab states, all of them allies of Washington, have joined a Saudi-led military offensive that kicked off Wednesday with a string of airstrikes against Houthi positions and assets in Yemen, including some in capital Sanaa.
Some Gulf countries assert that Yemen's Houthi insurgency enjoys the backing of Shiite Iran.
The country has remained in tumult since pro-democracy protests forced autocratic Saleh to step down in 2012 after 33 years in power.
