Intra-Yemeni Talks to Resume in Kuwait on July 16

New round of talks between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the government delegation will be held on July 16, according to a source.

DUBAI (Sputnik) — The talks between Yemen's Houthi rebels and the government delegation will reconvene in Kuwait on July 16, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported Thursday, citing a source in the government delegation.

In late June, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad announced that the UN-brokered talks to end the Yemeni conflict, which started in Kuwait on April 21, were suspended and would resume on July 15.

Earlier in July, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi said the government's delegation might not return to the peace talks if participation were made conditional to adopting a UN initiative on the establishment of a joint interim government with all the parties to the conflict.

Following the president's statement, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed went to Riyadh and Sanaa to call on the negotiators to return to the negotiation table in Kuwait.

Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force, who have been supported by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since March 2015, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions at Hadi's request.