Aden/Geneva: More than 20 people have been killed in intense fighting between rebels and loyalists on the outskirts of Yemen’s third city Taiz, military and medical sources said Friday.
The clashes have eliminated hope of the warring parties abiding by a truce announced by US Secretary of State John Kerry that was to have taken effect on Thursday night.
Loyalist military sources said that 13 rebels and eight pro-government forces were killed over the past 24 hours, while the rebels reported shelling of a local market.
Two civilians were also killed and 16 wounded as Al Houthi militia fired Katyusha rockets on a residential area of Taiz, they said.
The fighting continued despite Kerry’s announcement of a new ceasefire.
In Geneva, a top UN official said it was working with Saudi Arabia to try to bring Yemen’s government to peace talks after it rejected Kerry’s plan.
“We are working very closely with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region that can influence [the parties to the conflict],” UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson told a news conference in Geneva.
“We have discovered a stronger and stronger view that this war must come to an end but we have to bring them back to negotiating table,” he said, giving no timeline.
