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                    UN Urges Return to Peace Talks in Yemen

   by VOA News

   The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power on Sunday
   urged all of the rival parties in Yemen to return to U.N.-mediated
   peace talks, after Shi'ite Houthi rebels seized the central city of
   Taiz.

   Power issued a statement following an emergency U.N. Security Council
   meeting to discuss the situation in Yemen. She said the Houthis'
   actions "have consistently undermined Yemen's transition," and that the
   council reaffirmed its support for President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

   "These attacks are but the latest in a series of violent actions
   perpetrated by the Houthis since they chose to overrun Sana'a, take
   over government institutions, and attempt to govern by unilateral
   decree," Power said.  "To preserve Yemen's security, stability, and
   unity, all parties must refrain from any further unilateral and
   offensive military actions."

   The U.N.'s special envoy for Yemen, Jamal Benomar, warned the council
   that events were pushing the country "to the edge of civil war.''

   The Houthi militias, who are opposed to Hadi took control of the
   military airport in Taiz without a struggle from local authorities late
   Saturday. They patrolled parts of Taiz Sunday, with Houthi gunmen
   firing shots into the air to disperse protestors demonstrating against
   them.

   Hours after the takeover, the rebel leader Abdel-Malik al-Houthi vowed
   to send his fighters to the south, where Hadi has taken refuge. In a
   televised speech, he called Hadi a puppet to international and regional
   powers who want to "import the Libyan model" to Yemen.

   He named the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar as
   conspirators against Yemen and other countries in the region.

   With the deepening crisis, the United States withdrew all its personnel
   from Yemen Saturday, a day after suicide bombers killed at least 137
   people at two mosques in the rebel-controlled capital, Sana'a.

   The U.S. State Department said in a statement that the temporary
   relocation was due to "the deteriorating security situation in Yemen."

   About 100 U.S. special forces had been stationed at al-Anad air base in
   the south, from which the U.S. has launched drones against al-Qaida
   targets inside Yemen.  The State Department said the U.S. would
   "continue to actively monitor terrorist threats emanating from Yemen
   and have capabilities postured in the area to address them."

   Yemeni security officials say the rebels are backed by supporters of
   former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

   Hadi is in the main southern city of Aden, 180 kilometers south of
   Taiz, where he made his first televised speech Saturday since fleeing
   house arrest in Sana'a last month.

   Hadi demanded the Houthi insurgents leave the government ministries
   they have occupied, pull their forces out of the capital and return to
   U.N.-sponsored peace talks.

   He also denounced what he called a "coup attempt" against him after an
   unidentified warplane fired a missile last week at the presidential
   palace in Aden. Hadi was not hurt.

   Yemen has sunk into violence and chaos since a popular uprising ousted
   Saleh, the longtime strongman, in 2012.

   Iranian-allied Houthis seized the capital in September and have battled
   with Sunnis as they try to expand their authority.
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/un-urges-return-to-peace-talks-in-yemen/2690961.html