Yemen Talks Ended: No Cease Fire

Local Editor

UN-sponsored talks in Geneva on a cease-fire in Yemen Friday without a deal as Saudi-led warplanes staged further strikes on several areas.

More than 2,800 people have been killed since a Saudi campaign launched air raids on March 26.

UN special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that in five days of "proximity talks" the two sides agreed in principle on the need for a cease-fire and withdrawal of forces in keeping with UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

"There is a certain willingness from all the parties to discuss issues around a cease-fire accompanied by withdrawal ... I personally come out from these few days with a certain degree of optimism that we can achieve this [in further consultations] in the coming days," he told a news conference in Geneva.

"The [opposing] positions that as you know have been so strong in view of so many lives having been lost and where a government that is internationally recognized is outside the country. A lot of things didn't make it easy for us."

He said he would fly to New York Sunday to brief the UN Security Council, where major powers also needed to sign off on his proposal for civilian observers to monitor any truce and withdrawals on the ground.

In Washington, US State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the Geneva talks were a useful start. "We have to expect that it could be a lengthy process," he said.

In Sanaa, residents reported three airstrikes early Friday on the al-Sawad camp in a southern suburb where the command of the Republican Guard allied with Saleh and the Houthis is based.

Another three strikes were reported in the Khawlan region, southeast of Sanaa, six on al-Hazm district of al-Jouf province, and three on Aden's outskirts.

The UN Friday also launched a revised humanitarian appeal of $1.6 billion for the large number of Yemenis trapped or displaced by the conflict.

"Over 21 million people or 80 percent of the population are now estimated to be in need of some form of humanitarian aid and or protection," UN spokesman Jens Laerke told a news briefing.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team