Yemen peace talks delayed with rebels still in Sanaa

The start of UN-brokered peace talks in Kuwait between Yemen’s Iran- backed rebels and the government was delayed on Monday as the insurgent delegation was yet to arrive, an official source said. “Until now we don’t have information except that the (rebel) Huthi delegation is late,” a source close to the government delegation in Kuwait City told AFP. “They haven’t left Sanaa and are procrastinating,” the source said, adding that the start of talks had been pushed back. In the rebel-held capital, a source from the Huthis’ political bureau confirmed to AFP that the rebels had not left Sanaa. Representatives of the internationally-recognised government as well as the Huthis and their allies — loyalists of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh — were supposed to gather in Kuwait on Monday for a new round of peace negotiations. The talks are taking place after a ceasefire came into effect one week ago but was repeatedly violated. UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed arrived Sunday in Kuwait, where he spoke of “much tension” still gripping the war-torn country, KUNA news agency reported. But briefing the UN Security Council on Friday, Cheikh Ahmed said Yemen had “never been so close to peace”.