Yemen rebels taking part in peace talks in Switzerland snubbed a meeting early Friday, a member of the opposing government delegation said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to be crumbling on the ground.
“A meeting was scheduled this morning. We waited for them and they did not show up,” said a member of the delegation representing Yemen’s government at the UN-sponsored talks in the small northwestern town of Magglingen.
“Last night, they already expressed reservations,” he told AFP, requesting anonymity.
He stressed though that the rebels had not announced they were pulling out of talks, and might still turn up for a new session scheduled Friday afternoon.
In Geneva, UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi dismissed questions over whether the rebels were boycotting the talks, insisting Friday’s meeting had been scheduled to start late to allow participants the possibility to partake in Friday prayers.
Asked how long the talks would continue, Fawzi said “it is totally unpredictable,” pointing out that the open-ended talks had been expected to go on for at least a week, “but they could end at any time.”
He stressed that UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed “is working very hard to bring the sides closer together on substantive issues.”
Yemen’s more-than-year-long conflict has pitted local forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition fighting in support of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi’s government against Shiite Huthis and renegade troops still loyal to wealthy ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Since Saudi-led airstrikes against the rebels began in March, some 6,000 people have died and another 28,000 have been injured, according to UN figures.
Since the peace talks opened in Switzerland Tuesday, journalists have been held at bay and the UN has requested that the rival delegations refrain from making any comments to the media.
But the UN announced a first breakthrough in the talks Thursday, saying the sides had agreed to “allows for a full and immediate resumption of humanitarian assistance” in the flashpoint Yemeni city of Taez.
That statement also said issues on the agenda over the coming days would include developing a plan for a sustainable ceasefire and the release of prisoners.
A source within the rebel delegation, which represents both the Iran-backed Huthi Shiite rebels and renegade troops still loyal to wealthy ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, told AFP the delegation had not agreed on all the points discussed.
Word that the talks were struggling in Switzerland came as the fragile ceasefire on the ground that began simultaneously with the talks on Tuesday appeared to fall to pieces.
Yemeni forces and allied tribes on Friday captured the capital of northern Jawf province, the second rebel town to fall in 24 hours.
News of the seizure of Hazm came as the Saudi-led coalition that has fought rebels for months said two ballistic missiles were launched from Yemen towards Saudi Arabia.
