Saudi-coalition reaches peace deal with Houthis

Saa, March 9: The Saudi-coalition has reached a peace deal with Yemen’s Shia Houthi rebels to secure the shared borders between the two countries, Yemen’s foreign minister said on Wednesday. “The Saudi government has notified the Yemeni government of a truce deal with Houthi group to secure the borders shared between the two countries and to secure delivering aids to the damaged areas near the Yemeni-Saudi border,” Xinhua quoted Foreign Minister Abdulmalik al-Mekhlafi as saying. “The government has also exchanged an officer detained by Houthis for seven Yemenis,” he said. The Iran-backed Shia rebels in Yemen, sent a delegation to Saudi Arabia to negotiate a truce and exchange of prisoners on Monday, sources close to Houthi group said, adding that the move was mediated by Oman. More than 6,000 Yemenis have been killed in ground battles and air strikes, half of them were civilians since the Saudi government started daily air bombing on the Shia Houthi rebels and their allied forces in March 2015. (IANS)