Local Editor
UN-brokered peace talks between Yemen’s warring sides started on Tuesday in Switzerland.
The difficulty of the task is being underscored by the Saudi-led coalition’s failure to honor a weeklong ceasefire in some parts of the country.
The ceasefire scheduled to start at noon on Tuesday was meant to give the warring factions a chance to find a solution to the conflict that has collapsed the Arab world’s poorest country. However, coalition air strikes continued in Maareb province.
In a statement, UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Cheikh Ahmed said the talks in Switzerland "should mark the end of military violence in Yemen."
"The people of Yemen are daily, indeed hourly, anticipating the outcome of these discussions. This meeting is their only glimmer of hope and must not be extinguished," the envoy said in his opening remarks. "The tongues of fire, the scenes of destruction, the reverberation of bombs and the soaring prices have turned their daily lives into a series of ongoing tragedies."
In Geneva, UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said a total of 24 people were taking part in the "open-ended" talks.
According to the UN, the war in Yemen has killed at least 5,884 people since March, when the fighting escalated after the Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
