International News

KUWAIT CITY, (APP/AFP) – Yemen’s government and Iran-backed rebels have discussed the crucial issues of military withdrawals, the handover of weapons and the restoration of state institutions during peace talks, the UN
said Thursday.
Negotiators on Wednesday also debated the logistical details of a release
of prisoners and detainees announced a day earlier, UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement.
It was their third day of consecutive face-to-face meetings — the longest
run yet in the three-week-old talks.
“Parties began to present their visions on the withdrawals and the handover
of weapons, especially mechanisms of withdrawal and assembling of forces,” Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.
He did not say if the teams made any progress on these issues, which are
central to any peace settlement in the impoverished Arab nation.
A working group focused on political issues meanwhile discussed “specific
aspects for the restoration of state institutions and the resumption of the
political dialogue,” Ould Cheikh Ahmed said.
A UN Security Council resolution has ordered the Huthi Shiite rebels to
pull out of territory they occupied in a 2014 offensive and surrender heavy
arms they captured.
There has been mounting international pressure to end the Yemen conflict,
which the United Nations estimates has killed more than 6,400 people and
displaced 2.8 million since March last year.
The two sides said Tuesday they had agreed to free half of all prisoners
and detainees within 20 days, but the UN said the agreement has not been
finalised.
The Huthis and their allies loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh
seized most of Yemen in the 2014 offensive, forcing internationally recognised President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and his government to flee.
Pro-government forces, backed by Saudi air power, pushed the rebels out of
five southern provinces last year.
The Huthis however still control the capital Sanaa as well as large parts
of the country’s north and west, and the Saudi-led coalition has drawn strong criticism over heavy civilian casualties.
The rebels are demanding the formation of a consensus transitional
government to handle the pullout and arms issues but the government delegation insists Hadi is the legitimate head of state.