UN Envoy to Yemen to Broker New Round of Peace Talks by June 18 - Source

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UN Special Envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed intends to broker a new round of peace talks between the warring parties in Yemen by June 18, local media reported Sunday citing informed sources.

The UN-backed talks on Yemeni reconciliation were supposed to take place Wednesday, but the organization canceled the event after Yemeni President-in-exile Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi refused to attend the conference until the Shiite Houthi rebels, that had taken control of large swathes of Yemen, withdrew from occupied territories.

According to the sources, both the Houthis and the government-in-exile have agreed to restart negotiations, and the UN envoy wants them to start before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, starting on June 18, the Asharq Al-Awsat Arabic international newspaper reported.

On Thursday, the Russian Foreign Ministry called for immediate international conference on the Yemen crisis.

Violence has engulfed Yemen over the last several months as the country's largest opposition group, the Houthis, are fighting the forces supporting Hadi.

On March 26, upon Hadi's request, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition began airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.

According to the most recent estimates by the World Health Organization, almost 2,000 people have been killed and more than 8,000 injured in Yemen since the conflict escalated in March.