Major differences overshadow Yemen peace talks in Kuwait

After days of delay, the negotiations to end Yemen's disastrous civil war are finally underway in Kuwait despite major differences between the warring sides still overshadow the latest peace attempt.

In the talks, the rival parties, the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Shiite Houthi militia along with forces loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, insisted on different agendas and traded accusations over breaches to a truce that went into effect at midnight on April 10.

Local residents said nothing has changed after the cease-fire, as the conflicting sides were reportedly reinforcing their frontlines and re-positioning heavy weapons for further advances.

In Kuwait city and only one day into the talks, the session came to a deadlock and was adjourned shortly after, said the sources close to the negotiations.

On Friday, Yemeni rival delegations disagreed over a previously agreed agenda, which was first declared in March by the UN, and was repeated publicly in Thursday's opening ceremony by the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

The agenda calls on the Houthi group to cede power to the internationally recognized government, disarm and withdraw from cities to establish permanent peace and resume the political process.

The envoy said these demands are based on the UN Security Council resolution 2216 on Yemen conflict, which was issued to restore the power to Hadi's government.

However, the Houthis and Saleh's delegates expressed reservations. They want the formation of a new national sharing government before implementing those points.

Houthi and Saleh delegates told Ould Cheick Ahmed that they didn't come to Kuwait "to surrender their arms to their adversaries," demanding to "prioritize political steps" before implementing "other clauses."

The move was rejected by the government's negotiators, which "refused to accept any changes about the agreed agendas for the Kuwait-based talks," said the sources on condition of anonymity.

However, the envoy said during a press conference in Kuwait that Friday's meeting focused on the cease-fire file and there is a positive response from the warring parties.

"The discussions held today were promising and constructive and concluded amid positive atmosphere," he added. "We are closer to peace than ever."

Meanwhile, the talks were also expected to end a Saudi Arabia-led military intervention, which has claimed more than 6,400 lives, over half being civilians, and has driven Yemen, already one of the world's poorest countries, into suffering from an ever worsening humanitarian catastrophe.

Fuad Alsalahi, a political sociology professor at Sanaa University, said the Kuwait talks are very crucial for both Yemen and Saudi Arabia amid obvious military and political failures.

"Saudi Arabia has failed to contain the situation in Yemen. In other words, Saudi Arabia is playing a too big role," he said.

Abubakar Abdullah, head of the future media foundation, criticized Saudi Arabia for using its financial and diplomatic influence to manipulate the peace process.

The international community is now seeking an end to the Saudi intervention which only resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe and other serious consequences including expansion of al-Qaida and the Islamic State (IS) group, he said.

The Houthi group and pro-Saleh militias stormed the Yemeni capital Sanaa in September 2014, and forced Hadi and his government to exile.

Last March, Hadi's government authorized a Saudi-led coalition to enforce the resolution and bring Sanaa back to the control of the internationally recognized government.

The coalition and the government forces have taken four southern provinces from Houthi and Saleh militias in July last year.

Over the past two months, the coalition-backed government forces have advanced to northeast suburbs of Sanaa, ready to storm the capital once the talks collapse.

The civil war has so far killed over 6,000 Yemenis, mostly civilians, injured around 35,000 and displaced over two million, according to the latest UN statistics.

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Source: XINHUA