Yemen fighting kills 13 as Houthis stay away from talks

KUWAIT // The UN envoy to Yemen sought on Tuesday to persuade Yemen’s Houthi group to send representatives to peace talks in Kuwait as a shaky truce declared this month teetered near collapse, delegates said.

An adviser to the UN delegation in Kuwait said the Iran-backed rebels had been “very positive” until two days ago and were agreed with envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed on almost everything.

“They have since completely changed and this has caused a shock [to Ould Cheikh Ahmed],” the aide said. The envoy was now working with the Houthis and the government to iron out the problems.

Houthi negotiators have stayed put in the capital Sanaa, demanding a ceasefire begun on April 10 be fully observed before travelling for the talks with envoys from the internationally-recognised government of Yemeni President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi in Kuwait.

The Houthis have also rejected a proposed agenda that stipulates they hand over heavy weapons and withdraw from areas they control as per a UN resolution before a new government comprising all Yemeni forces is formed.

Any failure of the talks is likely to stoke intensified fighting between the Houthis and their ally, former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, on the one side and Mr Hadi supporters, backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition, on the other.

Residents in Marib reported intensified fighting in the province east of Sanaa after fresh troop reinforcements loyal to Mr Hadi arrived on Monday after training in Saudi Arabia.

Five soldiers loyal to Mr Hadi were killed in the clashes and eight rebels were also killed, military sources said.

They also reported more fighting in Taez in south-western Yemen, despite the presence of ceasefire monitors, while Saudi-led warplanes flew over the Yemeni capital.

Pro-Hadi chief-of-staff general Mohammed Ali Al Maqdishi accused the rebels of not respecting the April 11 ceasefire which he said his forces were committed to.

“The truce is still holding based on orders from our political leadership,” said Gen Al Maqdishi.

Delegates representing Mr Hadi’s government have threatened to leave Kuwait, accusing the Houthis of trying to impose new conditions on the talks. Officials said delegates were meeting at the emir’s palace to decide on their next move.

The Houthis have observed a period of calm along the border with Saudi Arabia and exchanged prisoners with Riyadh, paving the way for Mr Ould Cheikh Ahmed to draft a broad outline for the talks, which were due to start on Monday.

The United Nations says the Yemen war has killed more than 6,200 people and displaced millions of people.

Al Qaeda and ISIL have also exploited the war to widen their influence and gain more supporters.

Teams of joint ceasefire monitors have been deployed in some areas, but the Houthis say they were still unable to curb continued violations of the truce.

*Reuters and Agence France-Presse