Sanaa---A UN envoy called for an extension of a five-day humanitarian ceasefire in Yemen due to expire later Sunday as the Huthi Shiite rebels boycotted political talks in Riyadh.
The appeal followed clashes between rebels and pro-government forces across south Yemen on Saturday despite the truce, which has largely held since it began at 11:00 pm (2000 GMT) Tuesday.
"I call on all parties to renew their commitment to this truce for five more days at least," UN envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Sheikh Ahmed said in the Saudi capital.
"This humanitarian truce should turn into a permanent ceasefire."
Aid groups have also called for a lasting truce in the impoverished country, where a Saudi-led regional coalition has waged an air war on Iran-backed Huthis and their allies since late March.
Yemeni political parties began talks Sunday in the Saudi capital aimed at finding a solution to the crisis.
But the Huthis stayed away from the meeting of about 400 delegates including President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who has taken refuge in Riyadh.
Hadi repeated accusations that the rebels had staged a "coup".
"We are trying to regain our nation" from militias backed by "external" forces, he said in a reference to Iran, which has denied arming the rebels.
An Iranian aid ship bound for Yemen in defiance of US warnings has entered the Gulf of Aden and is expected to dock on Thursday, media in Tehran reported.
Its mission has been overshadowed by US calls for it to head to a UN emergency relief hub in Djibouti instead of the Yemeni port of Hodeida.
- Medics flee Aden -
Clashes raged overnight Saturday in the central city of Taez between rebels -- supported by troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh -- and pro-Hadi forces.
The rebels, who seized Sanaa in September and have since swept across many other regions, bombed a village south of Taez city, killing 14 civilians, a local official said.
Sporadic clashes also continued in Aden, which has been the scene of fierce fighting since rebels advanced on the southern port in late March after Hadi took refuge there.
Aden health chief Al-Khader Laswar said that 517 civilians and pro-Hadi fighters have been killed there in the past 50 days.
The toll includes 76 women and children, he said.
Quoted by the government news agency Sabanew.net, Laswar said he could not provide a toll for the rebels who do not take their casualties to the city's hospitals.
He added that 3,461 people were wounded, and said most Aden hospitals were currently out of service as "most" medics have fled.
AFP
