In Yemen's war, all losers

US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis told visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman last Thursday in Washington that there is an urgent need to find a political solution to Yemen's war, now in its third year. Mattis told reporters in Washington: “We are going to end this war, that is the bottom line.

And we are going to end it on positive terms for the people of Yemen but also security for the nations in the peninsula." This is all good and fine if only the parameters or the outline of any such magical solution can be identified, delineated and agreed upon.

The bottomless war in Yemen is obviously futile, and has killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides of the conflict and displaced no less than 2 million Yemenis.

This is not to mention the spread of epidemics, including cholera, in many parts of the country. The search for a solution has eluded the warring parties for three years and any talk about ending the fighting must be welcomed provided it is accompanied by a functional peace deal for the conflict.

It must be remembered that the civil war has started in the first place when the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen had ousted the duly elected government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

The restoration of the legitimate regime in the country would seem to be the first order of business in the search for a practical step for ending the conflict. Yet, reasonable compromises are needed along the way. After three years of bloodshed, there comes a point in time to say enough is enough. 

There must be plenty of room for a political compromise, on which honest brokers may wish to concentrate for the sake of the people of the county and for putting an end to carnage and destruction.

The newly appointed UN envoy to Yemen, British diplomat Martin Griffiths, may indeed have such a solution up his sleeves to sell to the warring parties. There are no winners in the Yemeni war, but there are many losers to be sure.

Common sense dictates that the war must end through the efforts of the UN envoy, and the sooner the better.