Yemen talks hit roadblock, prisoner swap in jeopardy

Brigadier General Ahmed al-Assiri of the Saudi coalition said the Iran-allied Houthis had repeatedly broken the ceasefire supposed to begin at midday Tuesday and that his forces were responding. The truce was intended to last seven days and coincide with the peace talks to try to end a nine-month-old civil war between the Houthis based in Yemen’s north and Saudi-backed southern and eastern fighters loyal to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Nearly 6,000 people have been killed in the fighting and millions displaced.

“The number of violations is around 150 and this does not show honest intentions,” Assiri told al-Ekhbariya television. “We urge the United Nations to clarify to the Houthis that there will be no patience towards these practices and the truce could collapse at any moment,” he said.

The exchange of 360 Houthis and 265 southern Yemenis on the border between Yafe and al-Bayda could not take place as armed from al-Baydah province in central Yemen blocked roads leading to the exchange venue, demanding that their relatives held by the Houthis also be included in the swap. —Reuters