In late June, UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmad announced that the UN-brokered talks to end the Yemeni conflict, which started in Kuwait on April 21, were suspended and would resume on July 15.
Earlier in July, Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi said the government's delegation might not return to the peace talks if participation were made conditional to adopting a UN initiative on the establishment of a joint interim government with all the parties to the conflict.
Since 2014, Yemen has been engulfed in a military conflict between the government headed by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and Shiite Houthi rebels, the country’s main opposition force, who have been supported by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Since March 2015, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia has been conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions at Hadi's request.
