Yemeni fighting flares up ahead of cease-fire

Heavy artillery fire and explosions rocked several southern provinces of Yemen on Monday as fighting between the Shiite Houthi group and soldiers of the Saudi-backed government continued hours before a proposed cease-fire was to come into effect, military officials said.

Internationally recognized Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi informed the United Nations and the command of a Saudi-led coalition that he will announce an "extendable" seven-day humanitarian cease-fire on December 15 to coincide with U.N.-facilitated peace talks in Switzerland.

Hadi said that the humanitarian cease-fire will be extended if the Shiite Houthis and their allies lift a siege on Yemen's third largest city of Taiz, free detainees and end military actions.

According to local Yemeni officials, the two warring sides are to cease firing at midnight local time (2100 GMT), but the ongoing intense fighting has skeptics wondering whether this cease-fire will suffer the same fate as the one in July that failed to take hold.

Earlier on Monday, pro-Houthi forces launched a series of missiles targeting Saudi borders and barracks of the Saudi-led coalition forces near Bab Al-Mandeb Strait of the Red Sea, the Houthis-affiliated AlMasirah TV channel said.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition officially announced Monday that "Commander of Saudi Special Forces in Yemen Colonel Abdullah Alsehyan, along with an Emirati officer, was killed during their participation in the battle of liberating Taiz province."

"After killing the commander of the Saudi Special Forces by a Houthis-fired missile, it's hard to see Yemen cease-fire going into effect tonight," Najeeb Ahmed, an Aden-based political expert, told Xinhua.

"Unfortunately, the ongoing escalation and the military developments on ground are not signaling a serious push towards peace talks," Najeeb added.

Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition carried a number of air raids against Houthis-controlled positions in different areas of Taiz province, as fierce armed confrontations continued between the Houthis and government loyalists there, military sources said on condition of anonymity.

A resident in Taiz told Xinhua by phone that "thousands of people in the besieged city hope that peace talks will at least lead to lifting of blockades by warring sides before more civilians die of starvation or lack of medical care."

Meanwhile, several people were killed and others injured during fierce fighting between pro-government fighters who were mobilized to push Houthi rebels out of Damit town in al-Dhalea province in south of the country.

On Monday, the UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, declared that he will convene a series of peace talks among the warring parties in the countries in Switzerland on Dec. 15, with an aim to secure a cease-fire in the war-torn country.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition in March began carrying out air strikes against military bases and arms depots of the Shiite Houthi gunmen, and later sent in thousands of ground troops from UAE, Sudan, Qatar and different nationalities to back pro-government forces.

Bolstered by heavy weaponry and Gulf troops as well as Yemeni fighters trained in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the pro-government fighters have retaken Aden as well as four other southern provinces in July.

However, the Shiite Houthi rebels supported by army units from the Republican Guard Forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh are still hold the capital Sanaa and several northern provinces.

More than 6,000 people have been killed in ground battles and airstrikes since then, half of them civilians. Endit