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Intra-Yemeni talks postponed indefinitely due to continued clashes

The Houthi rebels refused to send its delegation to Kuwait saying it is pointless in conditions of ongoing fighting in the country

KUWAIT CITY, April 19. /TASS/. Talks on settling the armed conflict in Yemen that were planned to open on Monday in Kuwait City have been postponed indefinitely as the Houthi rebels refused to send its delegation to Kuwait saying it is pointless in conditions of ongoing fighting in the country.

Muhammed Abdul Salam, the Houthi spokesman, said in a statement that the Houthis are committed to a peace political dialogue in the interests of the Yemeni people and stressed that the Houthis insist on a dialogue in conditions of tranquility, stability and peace. He also said the Houthi have requested the United Nations to outline the agenda of the talks.

Representatives of the Yemeni government, on their part, reiterated that the goal of their coming in Kuwait remains unchanged, i.e. the implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 2216 which binds the rebels to leave the cities they control and surrender arms. The government delegation said in a statement it has fulfilled its liability having arrived for consultations in Kuwait on the appointed date.

The press service of UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said earlier on Monday the beginning of the talks was delayed.

The ceasefire regime in Yemen has entered into force on April 11. However, despite the ceasefire, fighting continues in a number of Yemen’s regions, in particular, in Yemen’s third biggest city of Taiz, which, according to the United Nations envoy, poses a threat to the negotiating process.

Confrontation between the country’s authorities supported by Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels has continued in Yemen since August 2014. In January 2015, allies of Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), which is also known as the Houthi movement, seized the capital, Sanaa. President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi fled the capital first to Aden, and after the Houthis entered that city on March 25, he fled the country.

A coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and also including Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, responded to his request and has continued air strikes on Houthi targets from March 26, 2015. Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan also joined the coalition.

According to the United Nations statistics, more than 6,400 people have been killed and more than 30,500 have been wounded in the Yemeni conflict. About 2.8 million Yemenis were forced to flee their homes and more than 14 million people are in urgent need of medical assistance.

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