Dubai: UN special envoy to Yemen Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad, who held closed-door meetings with rival parties in the Yemen war for two days, announced late on Sunday that peace talks are set to resume in Kuwait “very soon”.
He described the talks as “fruitful”. Meanwhile, Yemeni President, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has called on Iran-backed Al Houthi militia leaders in Yemen to comply with UN resolutions.
The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported that President Hadi said that the resolutions have the stamp of international legitimacy and provide clear foundations of peace that coup leaders should comply with.
Hadi made the remarks during a regular meeting held on Sunday in Riyadh with his political team and the negotiating team participating in the Geneva talks.
The meeting was attended by the Deputy High Commander of the Yemeni Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsin Al Ahmar, said SPA.
The comments came after Yemeni forces made key gains in the south on Sunday after seizing control of two cities in Marib and Shabwa a day after three army brigades launched a major offensive to liberate the Al Houthi-controlled territories in the two provinces.
The victory gives Yemeni forces access to important oil and gas fields.
Officials say that if the government forces continue to advance at the current pace, they would be able to liberate all regions under Al Houthi control in Shabwa, like Bayhan, in the coming days.
Heavy clashes also broke out in the city of Taiz on Sunday when the Al Houthis launched a counterattack to recapture key military positions that previously fell to government forces.
Local army officers said that Al Houthis mounted attacks on the headquarter of Brigade 35, the old airport and some other areas but failed to break government forces’ lines.
Local medics said Al Houthis shelled residential areas in the city as they retreated, killing 15 civilians and injuring at least 30.
Mohammad Al Qubati, the head of the Supreme Medical Committee, told Gulf News on Sunday that Al Houthi shells continue to rain on civilian areas in the city despite recent victories by the government forces. “The indiscriminate shelling of residential areas in Taiz has continued unabated for 11 months,” he said.
Last week, a spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition said that major combat operations in Yemen were coming to an end, after which the coalition will work on “long-term” plans to bring stability to the country.
A Saudi-led Arab coalition began air strikes on March 26 last year against Iran-backed Al Houthi militants and their allies, elite troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. The coalition intervened on behalf of Yemen’s legitimate President Hadi after Al Houthis seized control of large parts of the country including the capital Sana’a.
Backed by air strikes and coalition support on the ground, Yemeni forces have retaken most areas across the country but Al Houthis still hold the capital.
