SANAA, Yemen (AP) – Yemeni peace talks in Switzerland were halted on Friday after the country’s Shiite Houthi rebel delegation suspended all meetings with the internationally recognized government in protest at its cease-fire violations, members of Yemen’s two warring sides told The Associated Press.
The Houthis said they would not resume talks unless the U.N. condemned government breaches of the week-long truce, the delegates said. Houthi fighters have also ignored the cease-fire agreement.
The peace negotiations began Tuesday at the Swiss Olympic House in the village of Macolin, a training center for elite athletes. Police armed with automatic weapons patrolled outside the facility, which was cordoned off with metal barriers requiring journalists to keep about 50 meters (yards) away.
The U.N. mediator has sought to keep a lid on communications about the goings-on inside – with mixed results. Officials have never fully acknowledged the location of the talks, and Ahmad Fawzi, a U.N. spokesman in Geneva, has said participants signed a “non-disclosure” agreement pledging not to speak to the media until they were over.
Yemen has been torn by fighting pitting the Houthis and army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against pro-government forces, which are backed by a U.S.-supported, Saudi-led coalition, as well as southern separatists, religious extremists and other militants.