Sana’a and Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat—Ali Abdullah Saleh, Yemen’s ex-president, and the Houthi movement are in “secret” talks with Western and Arab diplomats to help end the war in the country, Asharq Al-Awsat has learned.

“[Saleh and Houthis] are actively and secretly seeking… to resume UN [peace] efforts to reach a fresh ceasefire as a way out of the fragile military situation they find themselves in,” a Yemeni government official told Asharq Al-Awsat.

A UN-brokered ceasefire during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan failed to hold in Yemen, with fighting between rebels and Saudi-led forces resuming within hours of its announcement.

According to the official, Houthi leaders have met with Western and Arab diplomats to urge them to push for a ceasefire deal in Yemen.

This comes after the Iran-backed group suffered its biggest setback since the start of the crisis when forces loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia, retook the strategic city of Aden last week.

Saudi Arabia has been bombarding Houthi positions in Yemen since late March when President Hadi fled Aden to Riyadh and called on the Kingdom to intervene militarily in Yemen.

Separately, Yemen’s sovereign ministries will officially resume their work in Aden on Sunday, Rageh Badie, the spokesman of Yemen’s exiled government, told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The exiled government has allocated a budget of 1 billion Yemeni Riyals (4.6 million US dollars) for the local authorities in Aden, he said.

Several members of Yemen’s exiled cabinet have arrived in Aden since Hadi loyalists, known as the Popular Resistance force, declared the strategic city completely “liberated” from rebels.

Meanwhile, a second Saudi military plane loaded with aid arrived in Aden on Thursday, airport officials said. The first plane arrived in Aden on Wednesday after the city’s international airport reopened following months of fighting.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works is coordinating with the Yemeni government to ensure food and medical supplies reach those who most need them in Yemen, the center’s supervisor told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“[The center] is examining those needs with Yemen’s legitimate government… and is coordinating with the country’s civil society organizations,” Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah said.