CAIRO - After days of delay, the negotiations to end Yemen's disastrous civil war are finally underway in Kuwait despite major differences between the warring sides still overshadow the latest peace attempt.
In the talks, the rival parties, the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the Shiite Houthi militia along with forces loyal to ex-President Ali Abdullah Saleh, insisted on different agendas and traded accusations over breaches to a truce that went into effect at midnight on April 10.
Local residents said nothing has changed after the cease-fire, as the conflicting sides were reportedly reinforcing their frontlines and re-positioning heavy weapons for further advances.
In Kuwait city and only one day into the talks, the session came to a deadlock and was adjourned shortly after, said the sources close to the negotiations.
On Friday, Yemeni rival delegations disagreed over a previously agreed agenda, which was first declared in March by the UN, and was repeated publicly in Thursday's opening ceremony by the UN envoy to Yemen, Ismail OuldCheikh Ahmed.
The agenda calls on the Houthi group to cede power to the internationally recognized government, disarm and withdraw from cities to establish permanent peace and resume the political process.
The envoy said these demands are based on the UN Security Council resolution 2216 on Yemen conflict, which was issued to restore the power to Hadi's government.(Xinhua)