A delegation from the Houthi group, which controls the capital, Sanaa, and other regions in Yemen, is preparing to make a rare visit to Saudi Arabia, which supports the government, in a move aimed at pushing forward the political solution, according to diplomatic and political sources reported Thursday.

This comes as the first public visit by a Houthi delegation to the Kingdom since Riyadh launched a military campaign at the head of a coalition to stop the advance of the Iran-allied group in the poor country in 2015, about five months after the visit of a Saudi delegation to Sanaa.

Yemen has been mired in an armed conflict over power between the Houthis and the government since mid-2014, which has caused the death and injury of hundreds of thousands, and the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to United Nations estimates.

A Yemeni government official familiar with the content of the talks between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis told Agence France-Presse, "There are preparations for a Houthi delegation to move to Riyadh within the next 72 hours."

He added that the purpose of the visit is “to hold a round of negotiations with Saudi Arabia and reach a final agreement on the details of the humanitarian and economic files.”

He continued that the talks focus on the issue of paying the salaries of employees of the Houthi government, which is not internationally recognized, through the authority, which is a sticking point, and the launch of new destinations from Sanaa Airport, which remained closed for years before the coalition last year allowed its airspace to be opened for planes to Jordan and Egypt.

A Western diplomat in Yemen confirmed the Houthi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia, saying that it may take place "today", Thursday, or within the next two days.

Saudi officials did not immediately respond to questions from Agence France-Presse about the visit.

For his part, member of the “Political Bureau” Ali Al-Qahum, the highest political authority for the Houthis, wrote on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter) that the Houthi delegation will leave Sanaa “on an Omani plane to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to complete the previous meetings that took place in Muscat for more than Once with the Saudi delegation.”

He added, "Optimism exists and still exists in the success of the mediation and the Omani efforts to achieve peace in Yemen."

Oman plays the role of mediator in the conflict. Saba News Agency, the spokesperson for the Yemeni capital authorities, reported on Thursday evening that an Omani delegation had arrived in Sanaa, accompanied by the official spokesman for the Houthis, Mohammed Abdel Salam, residing in the Sultanate.

It is noteworthy that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited the Sultanate of Oman a few days ago.

The visit of the Saudi delegation to Sanaa in April, and the recent rapprochement between Riyadh and Tehran, have raised hopes for a political solution to the bloody conflict in the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

The head of the Sana'a Center for Strategic Studies, Majed Al-Madhaji, told AFP that the Houthi delegation's visit to Saudi Arabia "is like moving the relationship between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia from the back rooms to the hall of the house, that is, legitimizing this relationship and giving it an additional impetus."

He continued, "On the political level, it is an advanced step to end Saudi Arabia's direct role in Yemen and for the Houthis to acknowledge its role as a mediator," in addition to being one of the parties to the conflict.

The intensity of fighting in Yemen decreased significantly after the UN-brokered ceasefire that entered into force in April 2022, and it continues to a large extent even after the agreement expired in October 2022.

But the humanitarian crisis in the poor country continues to worsen, with humanitarian aid declining due to lack of funding.

On Thursday, 98 international and local bodies, including United Nations organizations, called in a statement to increase funding to continue helping “more than 21.6 million people, or 75 percent of the population of Yemen.”

These authorities indicated that “17 million people suffer from food insecurity” in Yemen, and this number includes 6.1 million people who have already entered “a dangerous stage of food shortages and acute malnutrition.”

Despite the scale of these humanitarian needs, by August 2023, the Humanitarian Response Plan had received only “31.2 percent of the total needs of $4.34 billion” for 2023, leading to “drastic and alarming reductions in aid,” according to the report. For the statement.

In addition, the International Committee of the Red Cross recently warned that Yemen is suffering from one of the highest rates of contamination with mines and other explosive remnants of war in the world, nine years after the start of the conflict in the country.

The committee's Middle East operations director, Fabrizio Carbone, said in an interview with Agence France-Presse that the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula have become among the three countries most affected by explosives.

He warned that the spread of explosives "is so large that it would not be possible to remove" all mines and remnants of war if the conflict ended today.