Clashes rage in Yemen as calls for peace talks grow

Fierce fighting raged today in south Yemen between Iran-backed rebels and loyalists of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, as pressure mounted for the warring factions to hold political talks.
The Huthi rebels, who have overrun large parts of the country and forced Hadi to flee overseas, have demanded a complete end to a month of Saudi-led air strikes against them as a condition for UN-sponsored talks.
Clashes left at least 38 people dead today in towns in the south of the impoverished country, strategically located next to oil-rich Saudi Arabia and key shipping routes.
Former strongman Ali Abdullah Saleh, who still holds sway over army units allied with the Shiite rebels, late on Friday urged the Huthis to heed UN demands to withdraw from territory they have seized.

US Secretary of State John Kerry also called on the anti-government forces to enter into political dialogue to end a conflict that the UN says has killed more than 1,000 people since late March.
"This has to be a two-way street," Kerry told reporters, adding: "We need the Huthi and we need those that can influence them to make sure that they are prepared to try to move... To the negotiating table."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has announced plans to appoint Mauritanian diplomat Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed as his new envoy to Yemen.
The appointment becomes official on Monday if no objections are raised by the 15-member council.

The fighting has raised fears that Yemen could become a new front in a proxy war between Sunni-ruled Gulf monarchies and Shiite Iran.
Tehran rejects accusations it armed the rebels and has presented a peace plan to the UN calling for a ceasefire and the formation of a unity government.
A US aircraft carrier headed to Yemeni waters earlier this week to monitor an Iranian convoy that had raised suspicions but redeployed on Friday after the convoy turned back, Pentagon officials said.
At least seven Hadi loyalists and 22 Huthis were killed in dawn fighting Saturday in the town of Daleh, north of key southern city Aden, an official said.

Farther east, in Loder, loyalist militiamen killed nine rebels in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, a government official in the town said.