GENEVA \u2014 The United Nations\u2019 special envoy for Yemen said Monday that the government and Houthi rebels would start peace talks in Switzerland next week and that the two sides appeared willing to accept a cease-fire in their nine-month-old war.<\/p>\n
The proposed talks follow months of shuttling between the warring parties by the envoy, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, in an attempt to mediate an end to a conflict that has cost thousands of civilian lives and caused widespread damage to civilian infrastructure, deepening an already acute humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n
An earlier round of consultations convened by Mr. Ahmed in June collapsed without the government of President Abdu Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the rebels ever meeting face to face. Talks that were reportedly scheduled to start last month never materialized.<\/p>\n
Setting an early test of the warring parties\u2019 intentions, Mr. Ahmed called for a cease-fire to take effect from start of the talks on Dec. 15.<\/p>\n
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\nThe call came amid fierce fighting around the city of Taiz between Houthi militias and forces allied with the Saudi-led coalition supporting Mr. Hadi, backed by intensive airstrikes.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters in Geneva two days after meeting Mr. Hadi in the southern Yemeni city of Aden, Mr. Ahmed said, \u201cWe are sure we will have a cease-fire, we are almost sure, we are very optimistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone seems to be welcoming this idea,\u201d he said. The Saudi-led coalition is fully \u201con board.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Ahmed added that he was seeking a cease-fire \u201cwithout time limit,\u201d but that building it into a permanent cessation of hostilities would take longer to arrange.<\/p>\n
Both sides agreed to send delegations to the talks, Mr. Ahmed said, laying out an agenda that included the withdrawal of militias from different areas of the country; deciding what to do with heavy weapons; confidence-building measures, such as opening up access for delivery of humanitarian assistance and prisoner exchanges; and resuming political dialogue.<\/p>\n
The assassination of the governor of Aden, Jaafar Mohamed Saad, who was killed in a car-bomb attack on Sunday for which the Islamic State claimed responsibility, \u201cillustrates the dangers Yemen will be facing if we don\u2019t go quickly to the negotiating table,\u201d Mr. Ahmed said.<\/p>\n
He added that he was planning to bring the two sides to Switzerland a day or two before the start of the talks in order to attend a workshop on the conduct of such negotiations.<\/p>\n