Sep 5, 2018

Yemen's Huthi rebels said Wednesday they were stranded in the capital Sanaa on the eve of United Nations-sponsored peace talks in Geneva with their government rivals.

The Huthis said the UN had been unable to "secure authorisation" from a Saudi-led coalition backing the government for a plane to transport the rebel delegation and wounded insurgents out of the country, according to the Huthis' Al-Masirah TV.

While the Huthis control Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, the coalition controls the country's airspace.

The Huthis, who are linked to Saudi Arabia's arch-nemesis Iran, have hinted that their delegation demanded the evacuation of wounded rebels to Oman for medical treatment as a condition for their attendance at the talks.

Huthi