Houthi delegates walk out of Yemen peace talks

Yemen's Shiite Houthi delegation on Sunday pulled out of peace talks sponsored by the United Nations in Kuwait in protest against a Saudi-led coalition airstrike that they said killed seven of their followers.

An official with the Houthi group said that "Houthi delegates in Kuwait and their allies of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh's General People's Congress Party withdrew from today (Sunday) talks in protest of the massive ceasefire breach, which is the airstrike in Nihm."

The setback came as Houthi spokesman Abdulsalam Mohammed said on his twitter account that: "Seven of our followers were killed and 13 others wounded in five airstrikes on Sunday on Nihm district."

"That is a clear violation to what had been agreed upon to cease all military actions," he added.

Nihm is located about 30 km northeast of the Houthi-held capital Sanaa. Saudi-backed government forces have been stationing in major parts of Nihm since they advanced early this year to prepare to retake the capital by force once the peace talks failed.

In the meantime, the government delegation, for its part, accused the Houthis of shelling loyal forces in Nihm on Sunday, in addition to continuing shelling on neighborhoods of the southern Taiz city, which has been under a year-long siege by Houthi and Saleh fighters.

The shaky cease-fire has been largely held since it went into effect on April 10, between the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and their foes Houthi militia and Saleh's group.

The talks began in Kuwait on April 21 under the auspices of the United Nations to seek a reconciliation end to a more than a year of civil war in Yemen.

The talks is the third of its kind since the conflict began after Houthi militias stormed the capital Sanaa and expelled Hadi with his government into exile in September 2014. Previous peace negotiations had failed to end hostilities.

A government source said the UN envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, cancelled Sunday consultations after Houthi and Saleh delegates walked out.

However, Ould Cheikh said earlier the day in a statement to try to achieve a progress.

"We insist to proceed in spite of all the challenges and difficulties. We call upon the parties on the ground to show calm, resort to the rule of the mind, and put the interest of the Yemeni people above all of disputes," Ould Cheikh Said.

The talks enter third week, but rival negotiators have so far failed to agree on the agenda in line with the UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

• The resolution orders Houthi militias to withdraw from Sanaa and all other cities, hand back weapons and release political prisoners before forming new sharing transitional government.

Houthi and Saleh delegates have been insisting on forming a new transitional government before discussing other topics.

Both rival delegations keep trading accusations of cease-fire breaches all over the three weeks of talks that progress slowly.

The civil war has drawn in Saudi-led coalition on March 2015, in response to President Hadi's call to restore his internationally recognized government to the capital, Sanaa.

• The civil war has killed more than 6,000 people, half of them civilians, injured more 35,000 others, and displaced over two millions, according to humanitarian aid agencies.

Yemen's conflict began after 2011 massive popular protests that demanded end to the 33-year rule of then President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
 [Xinhua -china.org.cn]
9/5/16
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