Temporary Ceasefire Extended in Yemen; Peace Talks to Resume on January 14

Yemen's peace talks in Switzerland ended on Sunday without any agreement on ending the conflicts and foreign intervention in the country, but the negotiating parties agreed to resume discussions in mid-January. Meanwhile, news agencies reported, citing sources close to the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, that the temporary ceasefire between the warring groups has been extended for another seven days. According to Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the UN special envoy for Yemen, the peace talks will resume on January 14, but no location has yet been determined for this round of discussions. However, Reuters reported, citing a source close to Hadi's delegation, that "the first round of Yemeni negotiations concluded with the agreement that talks would resume on January 14 in Ethiopia." Mr. Cheikh Ahmed noted that since the establishment of this round of talks last Tuesday, "serious progress" has been made. According to the UN envoy, during the Swiss talks, the conflicting parties agreed on a framework for negotiations, the formation of a joint commission for de-escalation, and also on joint cooperation for confidence-building. During these discussions, in addition to establishing a temporary ceasefire between the conflicting parties, the sides agreed on the exchange of hundreds of prisoners and implemented it, but while representatives of Hadi's government expected the prisoner exchange issue to continue, the opponents conditioned this issue on the establishment of a permanent ceasefire. The seven-day extension of the ceasefire comes at a time when the UN envoy for Yemen had described the agreement on the ceasefire as "out of reach." News agencies reported, citing sources close to Hadi's government, that the temporary ceasefire between the warring groups has been extended for another seven days. The issue of extending the temporary ceasefire does not appear to be a direct result of the Swiss negotiations, as Reuters reported that it was unclear whether the negotiating parties in Switzerland had agreed on the extension of the ceasefire. However, shortly after, some news sources, citing members of Hadi's delegation and the Itar-Tass news agency quoting Yemen's foreign minister, emphasized that the temporary ceasefire would continue for another week. This ceasefire was committed to by both sides last week at the start of their negotiations. Reuters reminded that although during the negotiations, Saudi Arabia and the Houthi forces accused each other of violating the ceasefire, the reduction in hostilities during this time allowed for the transfer of essential aid to war-torn areas. Analysts quoted by Reuters stated that given the strengthening of ISIS militants, who pose a threat to both sides of the Yemen conflict, and the deadlock in the battlefield, the upcoming talks in Ethiopia represent the best chance for ending this nine-month conflict. Since late last summer, following the advance of Houthi forces and their capture of the city of Sana'a, Yemen has been engulfed in conflict. However, the fighting intensified significantly after airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition against positions of the opponents of Hadi's government in late winter, and since then, according to the UN, more than 5,800 people have been killed and over 27,000 injured. Iran, which is accused of supporting Houthi forces, has so far emphasized that resolving the Yemen conflict should be pursued through Yemeni-Yemeni dialogues.