Yemen: Houthis meet members of late president's GPC

Days after the rebel Shia-backed Houthi group killed Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a Houthi political leader met Saleh's General People's Congress (GPC) party in Sanaa.

On Wednesday, Houthi-controlled media showed photos of a meeting between Saleh al-Sammad, the Houthi political chief, Hisham Sharaf, the Houthi minister of foreign affairs, and Yahya al-Rai, a senior speaker of parliament.

Al-Sammad also met other members of the GPC in a move perceived to be a Houthi attempt to restore an alliance with the party.

The Houthis, who protested against Saleh during the country's 2011 uprisings, formed a shaky alliance with the long-time leader and his party against the government of the internationally recognised President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in 2014.

This cooperation broke down earlier this month as Houthi fighters and Saleh loyalists clashed.

Two days before he was killed, Saleh publicly stated his willingness to engage in talks with Saudi Arabia, which has been leading a military coalition against the Houthis in Yemen since March 2015.

Saudi Arabia had imposed a total blockade on the impoverished country after a rebel missile was shot down near the kingdom's capital, Riyadh, exacerbating an existing humanitarian crisis.

Splits within the GPC had emerged when Saleh formed an alliance with the Houthis; many party members then shifted their loyalty and support in line with President Hadi.

GPC Secretary-General Aref Zouka was killed shortly after Saleh and was buried on Saturday in his hometown.

With Zouka gone, the GPC's future remains uncertain, with only a handful of leadership figures remaining.

Some are missing, such as GPC Assistant Secretary-General Yasser Al-Awadi.

According to reports, several GPC leaders have been captured by the Houthis and remain in their custody to pressure the party into maintaining an alliance with them.

On Tuesday, a joint statement by the governments of the United Kingdom, the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) urged Houthis to stop targeting political groups in Yemen.

"They expressed outrage at reports of indiscriminate killings and intimidation by the Houthis in Sanaa, including against members of the GPC and their families," the statement read.

But prominent figures within the GPC, such as Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr and his deputy, Rashad al-Alimi, are expected to take the lead in the near future.

Millions of Yemenis are struggling with hunger and disease, including the worst cholera epidemic on record, which has infected about one million people.

On Monday, a senior UN official called for parties involved in the war to allow "sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access" for Yemenis.

The war in Yemen, now in its third year, has killed thousands and led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. About seven million people are facing starvation.