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Yemen VP Renews Call for Peace Talks

Yemen VP Renews Calls for Peace Talks as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens
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Yemen VP Renews Calls for Peace Talks as Humanitarian Crisis Deepens

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Shiga Kai Tsaye
CAIRO — 

Yemeni Vice President Khaled Bahah renewed calls for peace talks Thursday, saying he does not want foreign troops in Yemen. And as Yemenis at home struggle to survive the airstrikes and battles, relatives trapped abroad say they will gladly suffer the consequences if they could find a way to get home.

At this traditional restaurant, Yemeni people stranded here in Egypt are divided. Some think foreign intervention is necessary to end the war, and others think foreign intervention is the cause of the war.

But they agree on one thing. They want to go back to Yemen.

Yusuf Mohammad is a college student from Ibb, a picturesque mountain city in central Yemen.

Sitting at a table in the Cairo restaurant he says he was born in Yemen, and he plans to die there.

Many Yemeni leaders are also out of the country now. From Saudi Arabia Thursday, Vice President Khaled Bahah called for new peace talks.

"We are still hoping that there will be no ground campaign along with the air campaign. This is what we are hoping. And we are hoping that our people in Yemen will understand and the causalities that have already happened now it would be more if it happened on the ground," said Bahah.

He calls on Yemeni people to abandon tribal loyalties in favor of national unity.

But the fighting rages on between Houthi militants and their allies and the allies of the internationally recognized government.

Saudi Arabia has been conducting airstrikes in Yemen for weeks on the side of the government, and rival regional power Iran is believed to be on the Houthi side.

Developments in Yemen

People salvage belongings from a government bank that was hit during an airstrike in Yemen's northwestern city of Saada, April 16, 2015.
1/4 People salvage belongings from a government bank that was hit during an airstrike in Yemen's northwestern city of Saada, April 16, 2015.
Destroyed vehicles are seen at a gas station after it was hit by an airstrike in Yemen's northwestern city of Saada, April 16, 2015.
2/4 Destroyed vehicles are seen at a gas station after it was hit by an airstrike in Yemen's northwestern city of Saada, April 16, 2015.
Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold their weapons in the air during a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sana'a, April 16, 2015.
3/4 Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, hold their weapons in the air during a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sana'a, April 16, 2015.
A Shiite rebel, known as a Houthi, chews qat leaves, an amphetamine-like stimulant, as he waits near the site of a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sana'a, April 16, 2015.
4/4 A Shiite rebel, known as a Houthi, chews qat leaves, an amphetamine-like stimulant, as he waits near the site of a demonstration against an arms embargo imposed by the U.N. Security Council on Houthi leaders, in Sana'a, April 16, 2015.
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Aid workers say the humanitarian situation is getting “worse by the hour.” Millions of Yemenis do not have enough food to survive, and there are widespread shortages of fuel, water and medical supplies.

In Cairo, Yemenis say there may be food, but many can no longer afford housing.

"I hope international organizations will find a way to help thousands of Yemeni people stranded abroad to get home," said Samar Amen, an aid worker who is trying to help.

But many Yemenis are also trying to flee the country, she adds, and families on both sides complain the war has robbed them of their freedom.

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