Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed

The United Nations' humanitarian aid official in Yemen said Jan. 16 that the civilian death toll in the nearly two-year conflict has reached 10,000, with 40,000 others wounded.

The formation of a new government by Yemen's armed Houthi movement and its political allies will hinder peace efforts in the country, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen said on Nov. 29. 

The move, reported by the Houthi-run state news agency on Nov. 28, has been seen as a blow to U.N.-backed efforts to end 20 months of war in Yemen. 

The United Nations' humanitarian chief says that if the warring parties in Yemen do not reach a peace agreement soon, the country could collapse with menacing consequences for the entire region, while the U.N. envoy for Yemen said both parties in the conflict had rejected his peace plan but he would return back to try to clinch a peace deal in the coming weeks.

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi on Oct. 29 rejected a U.N. peace proposal for his war-battered country, as air strikes by his Saudi-led coalition allies killed at least 60 rebels, inmates, and civilians. 

The warring parties in Yemen have agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire that will take effect shortly before midnight on Oct. 19, the U.N. special envoy to Yemen said.
Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said he hopes the temporary truce can lead to "permanent and lasting end to the conflict."

Yemen's warring parties resumed face-to-face peace talks on May 4, after a three-day break triggered by a walkout by the government delegation, the United Nations said.

It is only the second round of face-to-face talks in the hard-won negotiations to end a devastating conflict that has killed more than 6,400 people and displaced 2.8 million since March last year.

Yemen's warring factions held their first direct talks in a U.N.-backed peace process on April 22 and will meet again despite failing to agree on an agenda, participants said.

The United Nations envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, said the meetings in Kuwait had been constructive and the positive atmosphere was a step forward in efforts to end the conflict.

Talks aimed at ending Yemen's war opened in Kuwait on April 21, with Kuwait's top diplomat appealing to both sides to "turn war into peace" after more than a year of conflict which has killed more than 6,200 people and caused a humanitarian crisis.

Rebels who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh-led coalition fighting them said on March 28, in the latest sign of tensions easing before peace talks.

Yemen's warring parties have agreed on a ceasefire from April 10 followed by peace talks, a U.N. envoy said March 23, raising hopes of a breakthrough in a conflict that has devastated the country.