Huthi Shiite rebels, who are allied with forces loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, confirmed on Friday they would attend talks in Geneva aimed at ending weeks of war that has cost more than 2,000 lives.
The Geneva meeting, provisionally set for June 14, would be the first significant effort to stop the fighting, which has led to what the United Nations called a catastrophic humanitarian situation.
Yemen’s government exiled in Riyadh also said it would attend.
The Saudi-led coalition, which has been bombing the Iran-backed rebels and their allies for 10 weeks, early Saturday reported the second major ground attack of the war against Saudi territory.
'The Saudi armed forces today were able to repel an attack from the Yemeni side targeting several locations in Jazan and Najran,' a coalition statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said, referring to two Saudi border districts.
Tensions have escalated between Riyadh and regional rival Iran because of the months-long fighting in Yemen.
Ezzedine al-Isbahi, information minister of the exiled Yemeni government, said it would also send a delegation to Switzerland.
He told AFP the meeting would involve 'consultations on implementing Resolution 2216,' which the Security Council passed in April imposing an arms embargo on the Huthi rebels and demanded they relinquish seized territory.
In line with Resolution 2216, Hadi’s government refused to attend unless the rebels pulled back from at least some of the territory they have seized.
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