After over two months of bloodshed in Yemen, the first serious signs of a negotiated settlement to the conflict are emerging. As reported on Saturday, both the Houthi rebel militia as well as Yemen’s exiled government have agreed to attend UN-sponsored peace talks scheduled for later this month in Geneva.

The fact that the Houthis have said they will attend without preconditions is encouraging.

Read: Yemeni rebels, govt agree to attend talks in Geneva

The need for a negotiated settlement is essential. The Yemeni internal conflict — which intensified after a Saudi-led coalition started bombing the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in late March — has claimed over 2,000 lives.

According to the UN, around half of the casualties are civilians while close to a million people have been displaced. Moreover, the global body says up to 80pc of the Yemeni population requires aid, which has been difficult to deliver due to the hostilities.

Of course, between now and June 14 — the tentative date for the talks — a lot can happen. For example, around the same time the news of the Geneva talks was emerging, there were reports that forces allied to Mr Saleh had attacked Saudi border positions.

Along with the Yemeni factions drawn into the conflict, it is equally important that the external players involved in this scenario — Saudi Arabia and Iran who are supporting the government and the Houthis respectively — are on board and support the peace process.

Also read: American freed in Yemen as US holds secret talks with Houthis

Riyadh and Tehran must use their leverage with their respective Yemeni allies to urge them to seize the opportunity in Geneva and work towards a power-sharing deal that can address the concerns of all factions and, hopefully, usher in truly representative rule.

If a breakthrough is achieved in Switzerland, perhaps the groundwork can be prepared to resolve that other bloody regional conflict — Syria — where largely the same external players are backing various domestic actors. If this opportunity is lost, not only will the Yemeni people continue to suffer, but greater space will open up for extremist forces within Yemen.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2015

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