Yemen clashes intensify as Ban Ki-moon pushes peace in Kuwait

Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels killed 41 people on several fronts on Sunday, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the rival factions to accept a peace plan.

United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (L), and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon attending a joint meeting for the Yemeni negotiators in Kuwait City. Mr Ban urged Yemen's warring parties to accept a roadmap for peace and quickly reach a comprehensive settlement to the conflict. AFP PHOTO / HO / KUNA
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Aden // Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels killed 41 people on several fronts on Sunday, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged the rival factions to accept a peace plan.

UN sponsored talks between the Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the internationally recognised government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi have failed to achieve a breakthrough since starting in Kuwait on April 21.

The Houthis and allied forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh have seized control of large parts of the country since 2014 and still control swathes of territory including the capital Sanaa.

UN special envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed has repeatedly urged both sides to make concessions to end the conflict, which has cost more than 6,400 lives since March 2015 and displaced 2.8 million people.

But the clashes raged on Sunday, with the rebels pressing ahead with attempts to advance towards the Al Anad airbase, in the southern province of Lahj, a military official said.

The rebels and their allies captured the area of Qubaita, on the frontier between Lahj and Taez province.

Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition, which includes the UAE and backs Mr Hadi’s government, killed 11 rebels in Qubaita and Kirsh, the official said.

Also along the frontier between Lahj and Taez, five rebels and three government soldiers died in clashes triggered by a rebel attempt to advance in the Waziya area, said a loyalist militia source.

Six other soldiers were killed in clashes in the flashpoint city of Taez, where rebels attacked an army base, a military official said.

Meanwhile, nine rebels and seven soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours in clashes in northern Yemen, after rebels attacked loyalists in Nahm, north-east of the Sanaa, a military official said.

Clashes have continued despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that started on April 11 and paved the way for the peace talks in Kuwait.

On Sunday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed to the warring parties to accept a road map for peace and quickly reach a comprehensive settlement to the conflict.

The peace road map proposed by Ould Cheikh Ahmed calls for the formation of a unity government and the withdrawal and disarmament of the rebels.

“I ask both delegations to work seriously with my special envoy to agree to a road map of principles ... and quickly reach a comprehensive agreement,” Mr Ban told a joint meeting of the negotiators.

Mr Ban also urged “the delegations to prevent any further deterioration of the situation, and to show the responsibility and flexibility required to arrive at a comprehensive agreement ending the conflict.”

The Yemeni government insists the rebels withdraw from all territory they have seized since 2014 and hand back control of state institutions ahead of any political settlement.

The Houthis are demanding an agreement on a consensus president and unity government before signing any deal on military and security issues.

Mr Ban said the international community wants the conflict to end and Yemen return to the transitional process before the war.

The UN chief also warned the humanitarian situation in Yemen is alarming with scarcity of basic food and the economic conditions have deteriorated.

*Agence France-Presse