Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have held rare talks with Yemen’s Al-Islah party, ignoring its close links with the Muslim Brotherhood as they review strategy against rebels. Both countries have outlawed the Brotherhood as a terrorist group and the UAE even sponsored rival groups in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has not cut off all contact with parties linked to the Brotherhood, but the UAE had previously pursued a policy of “zero tolerance” toward Al-Islah, considered close to arch rival Qatar. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt cut off all diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar in June, mainly over Doha’s links to the Brotherhood. During the past year, the UAE has trained elite Yemeni forces to fight both the Huthis and Al Qaeda.

Source: Pakistan Today December 14, 2017 14:03 UTC