UN envoy arrives in Yemen's Aden to discuss lifting siege on Taiz

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Sunday arrived in the southern port city of Aden to hold meetings with the country's Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) over the reopening of blocked roads to the strategic southwestern province of Taiz.

An official of Yemen's government told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "Grundberg along with his team arrived in Aden and began discussions with the PLC and government members on the issue of the besieged city of Taiz."

On Saturday, representatives from the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia concluded an initial round of discussions without reaching an agreement on opening roads around Taiz and other regions of the war-ravaged Arab country.

The negotiation was hosted by Grundberg, who described the results of the talks as "promising," noting that a proposal for the phased reopening of roads around Taiz, "including an implementation mechanism and guarantees for the safety of civilian travelers," was drawn up based on the three-day discussions.

The Yemeni-Yemeni talks on opening the blocked roads of Taiz and elsewhere began on May 25 in Jordan's capital Amman, and are part of the UN-brokered truce that came into effect on April 2.

The Yemeni government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have been locked in clashes with the Iran-allied Houthi militia in the north, east, and west of Taiz since April 2015.

Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014, when Houthis overran much of the country and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa.