SANAA, Yemen, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A concerted effort is needed to ensure the political process in Yemen moves forward in a positive fashion, the country's foreign minister said Thursday.
Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi met Thursday with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Middle East Affairs Barbara Leaf in Sanaa. The official Saba News Agency said both sides stressed the importance of the national dialogue under way in the country.
Yemeni President Abdu Rabbo Mansour Hadi said he's appointed hundreds of delegates to help tackle national reconciliation.
The International Committee of the Red Cross this week said it was able to remove the dead and wounded from Dammaj, a city in northern Yemen, following heaving fighting between Houthis, a Shiite rebel group, and military forces.
Karen Sasahara, the U.S. charge d'affaires in Yemen, said this week that Houthis, which started their anti-government campaign in 2004, can play a political role in Yemen if they lay down their weapons.
The U.S. Embassy in Yemen remains closed in response to terrorism threats to the region that surfaced earlier this year.
