Representatives of Yemens Houthi Ansarullah movement and delegates from the administration of resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, have exchangedviewpoints over major political and security issues in direct talks aimed at putting an end to a14-month-long conflict in the impoverished Arab country.
United Nations Special Envoy for YemenIsmail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said during the talksin Kuwait City on Thursday,the warring sides also discussed the release of prisoners and detainees.
The delegations, however, traded accusations of violating a ceasefire that took effect on April 11.
We have learned that ceasefire violations were committed in the past two days and this is a disturbing development, the UN envoy said.
Ould Cheikh Ahmed further called on those involved in the peace negotiations not to allow the ceasefire violations to influence the talks.
He said ajoint UN-sponsored ceasefire monitoring committee is due to look into clashes on the ground and submit detailed reports to the world body.
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UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed speaks during a press conference at the Kuwaiti Information Ministry in Kuwait City on May 5, 2016. AFP[/caption]Earlier on Thursday, Abdulmalek al-Mikhlafi, the head of Saudi-backed and pro-Hadi delegation, accused the Ansarullah movement of firing artillery rounds at the southwestern Yemeni city ofTaizz. Hewarned that shelling of Taizz would have serious consequences on the peace process unless the international community shores up the fraying ceasefire.
Ansarullah spokesman, Mohammed Abdessalam, however, dismissed the allegations, accusing Saudi-backed forces of bombing residential areas and violating the truce in Taizz.
The Saudi-backedrepresentativessuspended their participation in the peace talks on Sunday in protest at Ansarullah's recent takeover of a military baseinYemen'snorthwestern province ofAmran.
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Yemeni children look at buildings damaged by Saudi airstrikes in the UNESCO-listed old city of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on March 23, 2016. AFP[/caption]Yemen has seen almost daily military attacks by Saudi Arabia since late March 2015, with Yemeni sources putting the toll from the bloody aggression at more than 9,500.
The Houthi Ansarullah fighters took state matters into their own handsafter the resignation and escape of Hadi, which threwYemen into a state of uncertainty and threatened a total security breakdown in the country, where an al-Qaeda affiliate ispresent.
By Press TV
