Yemen peace talks delayed until Saturday

A new round of talks to end the war in Yemen has been delayed by a day and is now expected to start on Saturday, the UN spokesman said.

The talks were pushed back while UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed was in Riyadh to try to persuade Yemen's President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi to come to the negotiating table.

Negotiators from the Huthi rebels and former president Ali Abdullah Saleh's political party were already in Kuwait awaiting the arrival of the government delegation.

"We will see whether we can get both delegations so that we can get the talks started," UN spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday.

"If there is any further delay, we can let you know at that time, but right now what we are anticipating is a start tomorrow," he added.

Yemen's president on Sunday warned that his government would boycott the talks if the UN envoy insists on a peace deal that would provide for a unity government that includes the insurgents.

Hadi accused the Iran-backed Huthis of trying to "legitimize their coup d'etat" and warned he would not allow Yemen to be "turned into a Persian state."

More than 6,400 people have died in Yemen since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of Hadi's government in March last year.

The coalition launched an air campaign to push back Huthi rebels after they seized the capital Sanaa and many other parts of the country.

There has been growing international alarm over the heavy civilian toll in Yemen, where 80 percent of the population is in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

Source: AFP