Yemen peace talks start, ceasefire takes effect

GENEVA: Airstrikes by an Arab coalition targeting Yemen’s Houthis killed at least 15 civilians late on Monday, hours before Un-brokered peace talks between Yemen’s internationally recognised government and the country’s Shia rebels started on Tuesday in Switzerland.

Residents said war planes launched two raids on the village of Bani al-haddad, in the northern Hajjah province on the border with Saudi Arabia, killing 13 people and wounding 20 others.

However on Tuesday, the guns went quiet across Yemen and air raids from a Saudi-coalition targeting the rebels were halted.

The week-long ceasefire, meant to give the warring factions a chance to find a solution to the conflict that has collapsed the Arab world’s poorest country, went into effect at noon on Tuesday. But only Yemeni government officials were able to confirm it, Shia rebel leaders could not be immediately reached for comment on how the truce was holding.