SANAA (AFP)
Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels have agreed to a timetable to end their uprising, a member of the negotiating committee said on Monday.
The rebels had given their "preliminary agreement to the timetable" as had local authorities in northwest Saada province -- site of the rebellion by the minority Zaidi community -- the committee member said on condition of anonymity.
The timetable stipulates a phased withdrawal of rebels from various locations where the fighting has taken place and their replacement by army regulars.
The process would be accompanied by the gradual release of rebels held by the authorities and culminate in the departure of the leaders of the revolt to exile in Qatar.
The committee, which groups political parties represented in the Yemeni parliament, and Qatari mediators set a deadline of Monday evening for the implementation plan to be accepted by all sides.
The committee last month accused the rebels of breaching the deal brokered by Qatar in June, and the Gulf Arab state subsequently recalled its mediators from the committee, reportedly due to wrangling among insurgency leaders.
Under the deal, the rebels agreed to lay down their arms, ending years of fierce fighting that has killed thousands in one of the world's poorest countries.
The rebels are referred to as "Houthis" after their slain commander, Hussein Badr Eddin al-Houthi, Abdul Malak's brother, who was killed by the army in September 2004.
They battled with the aim of restoring the Zaidi imamate, which was overthrown in a 1962 republican coup.
An offshoot of Shiite Islam, the Zaidis are a minority in mainly Sunni Yemen but form the majority in the northwest. |
