Gulf foreign ministers to discuss Yemen on Thursday

Riyadh - Gulf foreign ministers will meet this week with focus on the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has been bombing rebels for the past month, the bloc’s chief said on Monday.

Thursday’s meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh would cover “issues vital to the operations of the Gulf Cooperation Council and developments in the region, including the crisis in Yemen,” said GCC Secretary-General Abdullatif Zayani.

It comes ahead of a leaders’ summit on May 5.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

All but Oman are part of the coalition that Riyadh assembled last month in support of Yemen’s embattled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The Gulf heads of states are expected to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on May 13 for talks on Iran’s nuclear programme and the conflicts in Yemen, Iraq and Syria.

Air strikes by the coalition warplanes against Houthi rebels have continued despite an announcement last week of an end to the air campaign dubbed “Operation Decisive Storm”.

The Saudi government said following its weekly meeting on Monday that the nine Arab countries that make the coalition want to help Yemen “reinstate security and stability, away from any hegemony or foreign meddling that aims to foment sedition and sectarianism.”