UN envoy arrives in Yemen's capital for talks with rebels

The office of the U.N. special envoy for Yemen says the diplomat has arrived in the capital of Sanaa for talks with the Houthi rebels

CAIRO -- The U.N. special envoy for Yemen arrived Monday in the capital of Sanaa for the first time since he assumed his post eight months ago for talks with the Houthi rebels, his office said.

Hans Grundberg landed at the Sanaa airport with the aim of engaging the Houthi leadership on implementing and strengthening a 60-day cease-fire in the war-wrecked country, his office said.

The two-month truce implemented April 2 was the first nationwide cease-fire in six years in Yemen’s civil war that erupted in 2014. That year, Iranian-backed Houthis seized Sanaa and forced the internationally recognized government into exile. The Saudi-led coalition entered the war in early 2015 to try to restore the government to power.

Grundberg’s Sanaa visit was his first to the rebel-held capital since he was appointed in August because the Houthis refused to receive him. He has met repeatedly with chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul-Salam in Oman’s capital of Muscat, most recently on Sunday.