UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths is preparing to visit Sanaa in the coming days, following his return Monday to the Jordanian capital after he met with Yemeni parties in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh. The envoy is expected to receive the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ response to his proposal on resolving the Yemen crisis. He had met the Houthis during his most recent trip to the war-torn country. An informed western source told Asharq Al-Awsat that Griffiths is working on protecting Hodeidah from the hostilities and preventing the militias from remaining in the city. On Sunday, Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr had handed Griffiths the legitimate government’s response to his Hodeidah suggestions. The envoy also met with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Riyadh on Sunday. They discussed the situation in Yemen and the Kingdoms support for UN peace efforts, as well as the humanitarian efforts to help the Yemeni people. In a related development, Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani said Monday that Griffiths has started to reach the same conclusions as his predecessor Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed that the militias were hindering any peace efforts. The minister said the Houthis should accept the military field developments in Hodeidah and the fact that the Yemeni people reject their presence. In an interview with Sky New Arabia, Yamani said the Yemeni legitimate government approved the Hodeidah initiative as part of all previous agreements and international decisions related to Yemen’s peace efforts. “The Yemeni people reject the Houthis and therefore, we have no choice but to continue the military operations to face those Iranian-backed gangs,” he said.