Amid Saudi Raids

UN’s New Yemen Envoy Aims to Revive Talks

SANAA (Press TV) – UN's newly-appointed UN special envoy to Yemen has begun looking for ways to initiate peace talks in the war-ravaged country, as Saudi Arabia’s aerial assaults against the Yemeni territory continue unabated.

Date: 27 April 2015 - 21:38

News ID: ۱۳۲۴۲

The Sunday development came as the country’s Houthi Ansarullah Movement has demanded an end to the destructive Saudi airstrikes against the nation’s industrial, civilian and military targets as a key condition for the UN-sponsored talks.
The deadly Saudi air raids, however, persisted on Sunday as dozens of people were reported killed and many more injured when the kingdom’s war planes bombarded several areas across the impoverished nation, including the presidential compounds in al-Nahdain and Jabal al-Naqam neighborhoods of the capital, Sana’a.
Saudi warplanes also fired a number of missiles into Faj Attan and al-Hafa military bases on the western outskirts of Sana’a, as well as al-Arqoub military camp, which lies east of the Yemeni capital.
The UN confirmed Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as the new special envoy to Yemen on Saturday, replacing Moroccan Jamal Benomar, who resigned last week following what diplomats referred to as strong criticism of his performance by Persian Gulf Arab monarchies allied with the Saudi regime.

Minister Rejects Call for Dialog

The foreign minister for the administration of the Yemeni? fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, has dismissed a recent call for peace talks among all sides involved in the conflict in the impoverished country.
Riyadh Yaseen told a news conference in London on Sunday that the request made by former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh was "unacceptable” after all the destruction he has caused in the Arab state.
"There can be no place for Saleh in any future political talks,” he said.
Yaseen and Hadi have both sought refuge in Saudi Arabia and have backed the Riyadh’s ongoing airstrikes against Yemen.
On Friday, Saleh urged all warring parties, including the Ansarullah fighters of the Houthi movement and the forces loyal to Hadi, to "return to dialogue,” adding that he was ready to reconcile with all Yemeni political factions.
The 73-year-old former Yemeni leader, who stepped down in February 2012, further called on the army and security forces to come under the control of local authorities in each province.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia pushes ahead with its deadly air raids against neighboring Yemen.
In latest developments, Saudi jets attacked the southwestern Yemeni city of Taizz, targeting the presidential palace, a special forces base, a school, and a security center.