UN seeks new date for Yemen talks

The United Nations worked Tuesday to re-schedule peace talks for Yemen after a Geneva conference planned for this week was scrapped.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon instructed his envoy to step up efforts with all factions in Yemen and countries in the region to agree on a ceasefire and a new date for the talks, said a statement from his spokesman.

Ban "is actively working to convene the talks at the earliest possible time," said the statement.

The Geneva talks were scrapped after Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi demanded that the Shiite Huthi rebels withdraw from territory they have seized before the negotiations begin.

The United Nations had called for the talks to be held without pre-conditions.

"The primary goal is to get the parties around the table and to stop the fighting," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Ban stressed that any further delay in re-launching the talks "will exacerbate a steadily deepening humanitarian crisis."

Aid agencies have raised alarm over the fate of civilians trapped in the fighting and the worsening conditions on the ground for relief organizations trying to reach those in need.

Almost 2,000 people have been killed and half a million displaced since fighting in Yemen escalated with a Saudi-led air campaign.

The Saudi-led coalition launched air strikes two months ago to push back the Huthi offensive and restore the authority of Hadi, who was forced to flee to Riyadh.

On Tuesday, shells fired from Yemen killed a civilian and a member of the security forces in the Saudi border zone, according to Saudi officials.

The Huthis suffered a setback when fighters loyal to Hadi retook the southern city of Daleh.
Source: AFP