Yemen's warring parties plan to meet in Sweden for peace talks

Yemen's warring parties plan to meet in Sweden on Thursday for peace talks, in a renewed United Nations attempt to end nearly four years of civil war that has pushed the country to the brink of famine.

A delegation from Yemen's Saudi-backed government arrived in Sweden on Wednesday, a day after the arrival of representatives from the Houthi rebels, accompanied by the UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths.

Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, has been embroiled in a disastrous power struggle between government forces and the Houthi rebels since late 2014.

A Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Iran-linked rebels since March 2015.

The talks in Sweden are expected to focus on confidence building between the two sides, the opening of Sana'a airport, lifting the Houthi-imposed siege on Yemen's south-western city of Taiz and finalizing details of a prisoner swap deal recently signed by the two parties.

A previous attempt by Griffiths to hold UN-sponsored talks in Geneva collapsed in September when the rebels failed to appear.

Many Yemenis are optimistic about what the talks might bring.

"There is a lot of optimism this time, especially now that all sides have felt the need to end the crisis which has taken its toll on them on a human, financial and psychological level," Sana'a resident Mohammed Ismail said.

Yemeni Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman said she will applaud any progress made during Sweden negotiations or any other "for the sake of achieving peace in Yemen."