Balls of fire rise from a military base following airstrikes
by the Saudi-led coalition -EPA
UN hopes Yemen peace talks can start by month-end
GENEVA, October 15, 2015
UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson said on Thursday he hoped UN-backed peace talks to end the conflict in Yemen could start by the end of October.
Eliasson, speaking to a Geneva news conference after talks in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, called for both Houthi fighters and the exiled Yemen government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to attend the talks without pre-conditions.
"We have been disappointed before, Geneva talks started but not much came out of it," he added.
Eliasson, noting that a U.N. verification mechanism to inspect commercial ships heading to Yemen was in place, said the United Nations was in talks on ending the Saudi-led blockade of Yemen and opening more ports in Yemen to allow in fuel and other supplies. - Reuters
