Al-Mahrami to Grundberg: Houthis Not Serious About Peace

PLC member Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami and UN envoy Hans Grundberg meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. (Saba)
PLC member Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami and UN envoy Hans Grundberg meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. (Saba)
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Al-Mahrami to Grundberg: Houthis Not Serious About Peace

PLC member Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami and UN envoy Hans Grundberg meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. (Saba)
PLC member Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami and UN envoy Hans Grundberg meet in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. (Saba)

Member of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Abdul Rahman al-Mahrami urged on Tuesday more international pressure on the Iran-backed Houthi militias to make them accept peace in the war-torn country.

Al-Mahrami held talks with United Nations envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg at the Yemeni embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The PLC senses that the Houthis are not serious about ending their coup, he told the envoy.

The officials discussed the latest developments in Yemen and UN efforts to revive the peace process.

Grundberg briefed al-Mahrami on the outcomes of his peace efforts with regional and Yemeni parties, reported Yemen’s state news agency Saba.

Grundberg is seeking to come up with a roadmap that would lead to a comprehensive settlement that would end the conflict in Yemen that erupted nine years ago with the Houthi coup against the legitimate government.

Al-Mahrami expressed to the envoy the PLC and government’s commitment to supporting his peace efforts, as well as the efforts of all regional and international mediators.

He hailed the success of the recent prisoner exchange between the government and Houthis, hoping that all detainees will be released soon.

The humanitarian file must not be politicized or exploited for political gain, he urged.

Moreover, he praised the role played by Saudi Arabia as a mediator.

Grundberg is on a tour of the region that has taken him to Houthi-held Sanaa where he met with members of the militia. He also met with PLC Chairman Dr. Rashad al-Alimi in the interim capital Aden.

He is set to hold meetings in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Grundberg was in Riyadh on May 5 where he met with Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber, al-Alimi and the ambassadors of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The discussions focused on the developments in Yemen and the need to intensify efforts to reach a political solution.



Italy's ITA Airways Resumes Flights to Libya's Tripoli after 10-year Gap

An Italian carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) plane takes off at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo
An Italian carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) plane takes off at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo
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Italy's ITA Airways Resumes Flights to Libya's Tripoli after 10-year Gap

An Italian carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) plane takes off at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo
An Italian carrier Italia Trasporto Aereo (ITA Airways) plane takes off at Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, September 26, 2024. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

Italy's ITA Airways resumed direct flights to Libya's Tripoli on Sunday, the first airline from a major west European nation to do so after a 10-year hiatus due to civil war in the north African country, ITA and Tripoli's transport minister said.

ITA said it would operate two direct flights a week from Rome's Fiumicino airport to Tripoli's Mitiga airport, Reuters reported.

“We are proud to inaugurate today our first direct commercial flight between Tripoli and Rome Fiumicino, strengthening commercial and cultural ties between Libya and Italy in support of bilateral relations between the two countries,” Andrea Benassi, ITA airways general manager, said in a statement.

Many international airlines have suspended flights in and out of Libya since the civil war in 2014 that spawned two rival administrations in east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Some airlines resumed flights to Libya after security was restored when major fighting paused with a ceasefire in 2020. But efforts to end the political crisis have failed, with factions occasionally staging armed clashes and competing for control over economic resources.

The European Union still bans Libyan civil aviation from its airspace

The minister of transport in the government of national unity, Mohamed al-Shahoubi, said the resumption of ITA flights between Tripoli and Rome confirmed "the safety and security of our airspace and the eligibility of Libyan airports".

Shahoubi said at a ceremony marking the arrival of the ITA flight at Mitiga that Tripoli is ready "to grant ITA additional transport rights to connect Libyan airports with other destinations in European Union countries."