SANAA, March 15 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Yemeni armed Houthi movement on Thursday confirmed that his group has been undergoing secret talks with the Saudi side since two months to end three years of war.
"The movement's spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam had held several rounds of direct negotiations with the Saudi officials in Oman to pave the way for a comprehensive political solution," the official of the Houthi Political Bureau told Xinhua by phone on condition of anonymity.
"There are ongoing debates over several issues," the official said without providing any details.
The new development emerged after the new UN envoy to Yemen, former British diplomat Martin Griffiths began his term earlier this week.
Three previous peace talks sponsored by the United Nations and hosted in Kuwait and Switzerland in 2016 had failed to end the war.
In March 2015, Yemen plunged into civil war between Iranian-allied Shiite Houthi rebels and Sunni Saudi-backed internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
The civil war has drawn in Saudi-led coalition in response to a call of the Yemeni president to restore his government to the capital, Sanaa.
The civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more 35,000 others, and displaced over two millions, according to humanitarian aid agencies.
