SANAA, Yemen — After two days of Saudi airstrikes and a barrage of anti-aircraft fire by Houthi rebels, Yemen’s former president reappeared Friday in Sanaa to call for a cease-fire and a return to United Nations negotiations.

Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh dominated Yemeni politics for 30 years until he was forced out of office in the 2011 Arab Spring uprising. But he’s retained backing among the key military units that have gone over to the side of the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who are now in power in the Yemeni capital.

Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s former president, announces a ‘peace initiative’ and seeks U.N.-sponsored peace talks. Reuters

Announcing his “peace initiative” on his own television channel, Saleh called for a halt in Saudi Arabia’s “Operation Decisive Storm” air assault, a halt to military operations by the Houthi rebels, and a return to U.N.-sponsored talks.

It’s not beyond the realm of possibility. On Friday night, even as bombs rained down on Sanaa, U.N. special envoy Jamal Benomar invited leading politicians from all sides to meet Saturday at the Sanaa airport for a trip to an unstated destination, thought to be Morocco, for a resumption of peace discussions sponsored by gulf Arab states. It wasn’t clear whether the meeting would take place; the Houthis hadn’t given a firm response.

One controversial element of Saleh’s proposal was that both Houthis and forces loyal to the president who replaced him, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, were to give up their claims to the southern port of Aden, which Houthis were close to seizing when the Saudi air offensive began.

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