Difficult matters hinder deal between Yemeni warring parties: UN envoy

The UN special envoy says a number of“difficult matters" remain unresolved to clinch an accord between Yemen's warring parties during ongoing UN-brokered talks in Kuwait.

United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said during a press briefing in Kuwait City on Sunday that some progress had been achieved in the talks between representatives of Yemen's Ansarullah movement and delegates loyal to Saudi-backed resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

The envoy declined to elaborate on any progress made during the talks which began on April 21.

"Now, we have an opportunity to reach a peaceful settlement... the progress we have made on some points makes us optimistic," the UN envoy said, adding, "But there remains some difficult matters... the problem is reaching a clear political agreement."

The remarks come as foes have made no significant progress other than a preliminary agreement to release half of the prisoners before the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in the first week of June.

The ongoing peace talks on Yemen have failed to establish peace as delegations trade accusations of violation of ceasefire that took effect on April 11.

They are also being held against the backdrop of incessant airstrikes by Saudi warplanes against its impoverished neighbor. 

In the latest aerial aggression, several people are feared killed as Saudi warplanes bombed civilian targets across Yemen's Saada, Sana'a and Ma'rib provinces, despite international warnings about deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the war-hit country.

Houthi Ansarullah movement has accused Saudi Arabia and its mercenaries of constantly violating the truce agreement across the country.

On Thursday, Ansarullah spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam in a Twitter post accused the Hadi camp of blocking UN-brokered Yemen peace talks in Kuwait.

Ansarullah leader Abdel Malek al-Houthi recently reiterated that a political solution to the Yemen conflict is close at hand, but the obstinacy of the invading countries is an impediment to that goal.

UN envoy to Yemen has called on the warring parties to “make concessions in order to strike a comprehensive peaceful solution” to the conflict.

Yemen has seen under almost daily military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March 2015. More than 9,500 people have been killed in Saudi airstrikes during 13 months of Riyadh’s military campaign against the impoverished Arab country.

Hundreds of schools, medical centers,  fuel depots, power plants, airports, docks, harbors, bridges, roads, tourism centers, historical sites, mosques, food warehouses, water reserve tanks, communications towers and stadiums have been struck ever since Saudi Arabia launched its military strikes late March last year to bring fugitive former Yemeni president back to power.

The Britain-based Amnesty International and several other rights groups have documented grave violations of humanitarian and human rights law, including possible war crimes, during the ongoing Saudi aggression in Yemen.

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