UN chief to take part in Yemen talks in Geneva

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to take part in the Yemen talks on Monday as they kick off in Geneva in a bid to reduce violence and increase access to humanitarian aid in the country, a UN spokesman said.

"On Monday, June 15, the consultations with the Yemeni parties will begin in Geneva," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here on Friday. "The secretary-general will attend the initial talks."

Stating that the Geneva consultations were the start of a process, he said these were the first consultations to involve the different sides in the Yemeni conflict since hostilities resumed, Xinhua news agency reported.

"They mark an important step as the parties embark on the road towards a settlement," he said.

"We hope the consultations will help create a new dynamic to build confidence between Yemeni actors and yield concrete benefits for the population, especially reduced violence and increased access to humanitarian aid and basic services."

Dujarric said the UN hoped the consultations would help achieve a renewed pause to allow humanitarian assistance to reach all Yemenis in need and provide assistance as we enter into the holy month of Ramadan; agreement on ceasefires with the withdrawal of armed groups from cities, building to a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire throughout the country; and acknowledgment from all sides of the need for the resumption of a peaceful and orderly political transition and for subsequent talks to include more representation from other political parties, women, youth and civil society.

Earlier on Friday, Dujarric told reporters here that UN-led consultations on Yemen were rescheduled to begin on Monday due to unforeseen circumstances.

The UN-brokered peace talks were initially due to take place in Geneva on June 14 aimed at ending weeks of conflict which has killed more than 2,000 people.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen has been described as "catastrophic" by the UN with 20 million civilians -- 80 percent of the population -- in need of aid.

The announcement came as witnesses reported that Saudi-led warplanes hit Yemeni rebels and their allies in Sanaa, in the first strikes on the rebel-held capital since the end of a five-day humanitarian truce on Sunday.

The Saudi-led coalition has waged an air war on the rebels since late March in an effort to restore the authority of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is now based in Riyadh.

Yemen got mired in political gridlock in 2011 when mass protests forced former president Ali Abdullash Saleh to step down. The three-year reconciliation talks failed to resolve the crisis but created a huge power vacuum that benefited the powerful Al Qaeda (AQAP) in the Arabian Peninsula and other extremist groups.