Sanaa: Yemen's exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has agreed to travel to Geneva for peace talks with Shiite rebels who have taken over large swaths of his country, an aide to the embattled leader has said.
Hadi had previously insisted that the rebels, known as Houthis, give up their weapons and surrender territory before entering into talks with them.
The aide, who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters, said the decision came after talks with Yemeni leaders in Riyadh and with UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
The Geneva talks had been previously postponed. No new date for the talks has been set.
Yemen's conflict pits Hadi against the Iranian-backed Houthis -- who seized the capital, Sanaa, last year -- and military units loyal to former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes against the Houthis and their allies on March 26, shortly after Hadi fled a rebel advance on the south.
The coalition says Iran has provided military aid to the Houthis, charges denied by Tehran and the rebels.
Saudi-led airstrikes hit the rebel-held General Army Command building in the center of Sanaa for the first time yesterday, Yemeni officials said.
They said strikes also hit rebel areas outside Sanaa and in the southern city of Aden, as well as several locations in the city of Taiz, including the command center of the 25th Mechanized Brigade.
They said airstrikes also targeted several Houthi gatherings in the city of Dhale, as well as sites in their northern stronghold, Saada.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief reporters, said three civilians died in the Sanaa attack and nearby homes were damaged.
The airstrikes and ground fighting have killed more than 1,000 civilians and displaced a half million people, according to the UN.
