The GCC initiative, another chance for Yemen

The Saudi-based Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considering inviting the Iran-aligned Houthi movement and other Yemeni parties for consultations in Riyadh this month as part of an initiative aimed at backing U.N.-led peace efforts.

As expected, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis declined to attend talks to be held by the Gulf Cooperation Council at GCC headquarters in Riyadh to discuss a peaceful settlement in Yemen.

Not many experts were surprised by the Houthis' reaction as they have spared no effort in the past to block all peace initiatives and calls for a truce.

Analysts believe that by refusing to participate in the consultations, Houthis continue to miss opportunities for peace and work to escalate their military operations inside Yemen, as they continue to believe end to the war in Yemen will come only through military force.

The UN special envoy has been holding talks with Yemeni parties to build a framework for inclusive political negotiations to end the war which has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

Riyadh leads a military coalition that has been battling the Houthis for seven years in a conflict widely seen in the region as a proxy war where Iran backs Houthi rebels against the internationally-recognized government.

The alliance intervened in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised government from the capital, Sana’a, in late 2014.

The GCC initiative comes ahead of a donors conference on March 16. The United Nations on Wednesday received only $1.3 billion in pledges towards a $4.27 billion aid plan for Yemen where the humanitarian drive had seen funding dry up even before global attention turned to the conflict in Ukraine.