File Photo: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. (Agence France-Presse)
United Nations, United States:
A United Nations conference to re-launch political talks in Yemen will open in Geneva on May 28, a UN spokesman said Wednesday.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the meeting was to "restore momentum towards a Yemeni-led political transition process."
The conference was due to be announced last week, but the United Nations demanded that there be a halt in fighting for the talks to go ahead.
The announcement came as Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen intensified after a five-day humanitarian truce expired at the weekend.
Ban hopes the Geneva talks "will help Yemen re-launch the political process, reduce the levels of violence and alleviate the intolerable humanitarian situation," said a statement from his spokesman.
It remained unclear if the Shiite Huthi rebels planned to attend the meeting.
UN-brokered peace talks were suspended when the Huthis went on the offensive, capturing Sanaa in September and advancing on Aden, forcing the president to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia.
A new UN envoy, Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, was named after Gulf nations lost confidence in then-mediator Jamal Benomar.
The Saudi-led coalition launched an air war on Yemen on March 26 to restore the authority of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
Some 1,850 people had been killed and 7,394 wounded in the violence in Yemen, while another 545,000 had been displaced, according to the United Nations.
In announcing the conference, Ban noted that the previous rounds of talks had allowed the parties to "chart a course for democratic change and a new vision for the country."
"Tragically, Yemen has now slid into conflict that risks spilling across its borders and that is having a dramatic impact on civilians, who are paying the highest price," he added.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the meeting was to "restore momentum towards a Yemeni-led political transition process."
The conference was due to be announced last week, but the United Nations demanded that there be a halt in fighting for the talks to go ahead.
The announcement came as Saudi-led air strikes on Yemen intensified after a five-day humanitarian truce expired at the weekend.
Ban hopes the Geneva talks "will help Yemen re-launch the political process, reduce the levels of violence and alleviate the intolerable humanitarian situation," said a statement from his spokesman.
It remained unclear if the Shiite Huthi rebels planned to attend the meeting.
UN-brokered peace talks were suspended when the Huthis went on the offensive, capturing Sanaa in September and advancing on Aden, forcing the president to flee into exile in Saudi Arabia.
A new UN envoy, Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, was named after Gulf nations lost confidence in then-mediator Jamal Benomar.
The Saudi-led coalition launched an air war on Yemen on March 26 to restore the authority of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.
Some 1,850 people had been killed and 7,394 wounded in the violence in Yemen, while another 545,000 had been displaced, according to the United Nations.
In announcing the conference, Ban noted that the previous rounds of talks had allowed the parties to "chart a course for democratic change and a new vision for the country."
"Tragically, Yemen has now slid into conflict that risks spilling across its borders and that is having a dramatic impact on civilians, who are paying the highest price," he added.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
