‘Stuck in a swamp’: Saudi Arabia seeks exit from Yemen war

DUBAI: Eight years after launching its military campaign in Yemen, Saudi Arabia wants to extricate itself from the conflict, despite slim hopes of lasting peace, to focus on ambitious projects at home.

The oil-rich monarchy gave a signal this month by announcing plans to resume ties with Iran, which backs Yemen´s Huthi rebels against the Saudi-supported government in a proxy war. But as Saudi Arabia instigates sweeping social and economic changes as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman´s “Vision 2030” reform, it “is seeking to shift its approach in Yemen from a military strategy to a soft security and political one”, said Ahmed Nagi, from the International Crisis Group.

Since the Saudi-led military intervention began on March 26, 2015, the kingdom has pounded its impoverished neighbour with air strikes in a conflict that has triggered one of the world´s worst humanitarian crises, according to the United Nations.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed through direct and indirect causes, with 4.5 million people internally displaced and more than two-thirds of the population living below the poverty line, according to UN estimates.

Nagi said that “military operations, such as air strikes” are now likely to cease, adding that the priority now is a “diplomatic solution”. The Saudi-led intervention, which marks its eighth anniversary on Sunday, came after the Huthis took control of the capital Sanaa in 2014.

A UN-brokered ceasefire that took effect last April brought a sharp reduction in hostilities. Even though the truce expired in October, fighting has largely remained on hold.

Even before the truce, Saudi Arabia and the Huthis were engaging in back-channel negotiations, including talks in neutral neighbour Oman. Riyadh´s top priority is securing border areas and stopping the drone and missile attacks that have targeted its all-important oil facilities, analysts say.