Yemen peace in tatters as Saudi jets kill 13

At least 13 people, including five paramedics, are killed in a fresh Saudi airstrike in Yemen despite peace talks which a Houthi official says have little chance of success.  

Mohammad Abdulsalam, who heads the Ansarullah delegation, said Saudi Arabia and its side in the peace talks underway in Kuwait are unwilling to make any concessions in order to form a new government.

The Houthis and their allies have demanded the formation of a consensus transitional government before forging ahead with other issues.

They have also demanded the withdrawal of a US force operating in the south of the country along with UAE troops. 

On Friday, the US military for the first time publicly acknowledged that American troops are operating inside Yemen to help pro-Hadi forces and a Saudi offensive. 

Abdulsalam accused Saudi Arabia and its mercenaries on the ground of forced deportation of Yemeni people from some southern provinces.

His remarks came after forces loyal to Yemen’s former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi were said to have been arresting and evicting hundreds of civilians from the southern port city of Aden to the north.

Local officials said pro-Hadi secessionists were raiding shops, restaurants and homes, detaining more than 2,000 people whom they said posed a security threat.

Aden fell to pro-Hadi forces who were backed by Saudi air cover after fierce fighting with Houthi fighters in July 2015.

On Monday, UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed called on the warring parties in Yemen to “make concessions in order to strike a comprehensive peaceful solution” to the conflict.

All direct negotiations scheduled for Sunday were cancelled as Hadi's representatives pulled out of the talks.

“The participants in the Kuwait negotiations must reflect the aspirations of the Yemeni people. I am confident that Yemenis want an end to the conflict,” Ould Cheikh Ahmed said in a statement after separate meetings with delegations. 

He said new talks were slated to take place on Monday, urging the two parties to cooperate further. 

With pro-Hadi forces evicting people in Aden, Saudi warplanes targeted the al-Amaleqa camp in the Harf Sufyan district of Amran Province on Monday.

The air raid killed at least 13 people and left 15 others injured, Yemen's al-Masirah television reported.

The attack came a day after seven people were killed and 13 others injured after Saudi jets attacked the capital Sana’a, prompting Houthis to issue a strong protest to the UN envoy, according to a source close to the negotiations.

Yemeni delegates at the peace talks in Kuwait told Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled al-Sabah that repeated violations of the truce threaten the negotiations.

There has been mounting international pressure to end the Yemen conflict that has killed more than 9,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since March last year.

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