– Reuters picADEN, June 28 ― Intensified fighting and air strikes over the past 24 hours in Yemen have left 80 people dead, including 37 civilians, as lengthy peace talks in Kuwait made no headway, officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.
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Yemen is more than 15 months into a war in which the Saudi-led coalition has intervened to prevent Iran-allied Houthis, who control the capital, from completing a takeover of the country and overthrowing the government.
“France condemns the attacks carried out by Daesh (IS) in (al) Mukalla against police forces and which took almost 40 lives”, a Foreign Ministry statement said.
International Desk – A series of suicide bomb attacks killed at least 42 Yemeni troops and score others injured in the South-eastern Yemeni city of Mukalla, according to Media reports.
Clashes have continued despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that entered into effect on April 11 and paved the way for the peace talks in Kuwait.
Shortly afterwards, two suicide bombers launched a fourth attack and blew themselves up at the entrance of an army camp, the official said.
In the flashpoint city of Taez, 11 civilians and a soldier were killed when rebels bombed a residential area, a military official said. In one of the attacks, a bomb was concealed in a box of food brought to soldiers at a checkpoint to break their dawn-to-dusk Ramadan fast. While the other attacks were carried out by militants who stormed into a police station, the AP reported.
In recent months, al-Qaeda has exploited the ongoing conflict between loyalist forces and Houthi rebels to bolster its influence in the country’s south.
Two negotiators representing Houthis and their allies, and one from the Hadi-delegation said the two sides on Monday were drafting a statement to declare that the negotiations will resume in mid-July following the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
This announcement has come just after the United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon visited Kuwait urging both the sides to arrive at a deal to end the conflict.
The government has demanded the implementation of a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on the rebels to withdraw from all cities, including Sanaa, and hand over their heavy weapons.
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Houthis have rejected the call, saying they will only accept a deal on military and security issues after consensus is reached on the next president and a unity government in Yemen.
