Special to WorldTribune.com

Amid reports the U.S. was flying Iran-backed Houthi officials in Yemen for secret talks in Oman, warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition continued to pound Houthi targets throughout Yemen.

“We have been informed that there are meetings, at American request, and that a private American plane carried the Houthis to Muscat,” Rajeh Badi, a spokesman for Yemen’s government told reporters from Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis’ television channel reported that the Saudi-led coalition carried out 25 air strikes on the main Houthi provinces of Saada and Hajja near the Yemen-Saudi border. Coalition warplanes also hit an air base near Sanaa airport and a Houthi-aligned military outpost near the presidential palace.

The air strikes began in March in an effort to restore Yemeni President Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi to power.

Hadi had said that, before any talks could take place, the Houthis would have to recognize his authority and pull out of Yemen’s main cities. A United Nations Security Council resolution made the same demands.

The Houthis have demanded an end to the coalition bombing campaign before entering negotiations.

If reports of the U.S.-Houthi meetings in Oman are confirmed, it would be the first such meeting since hostilities began on March 19.

Oman is not taking part in the Saudi coalition air strikes on Yemen. The UN reports that nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

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