Yemen rebel leader meets UN envoy in efforts to revive talks

SANAA, Yemen – The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels has met with U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths in the capital Sanaa to discuss reviving peace talks to end the country’s four-year-old stalemated war.

Tuesday’s statement by the rebels says Abdul-Malek al-Houthi called for the Saudi-led coalition battling his group to “stop the aggression and lift the blockade” following the rebels’ own moves to deescalate the conflict.

The rebels said last month they were halting their missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia. On Monday they announced the release of scores of detainees they had rounded up and held for years in rebel-controlled territory.

The moves raised hopes of reviving stalled peace talks between the warring sides.

Yemen’s war has killed tens of thousands of people and sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.