UN deputy envoy arrives in Yemen's rebel-held capital

SANAA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- UN deputy envoy Maeen Sharim arrived in Yemen's rebel-held capital Sanaa on Saturday, a security official at Sanaa airport told Xinhua.

This is his first visit to Yemen since his appointment to seek arrangements for holding talks planned by the United Nations between the Yemeni warring parties, the Iranian-allied Shiite Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed Sunni government of exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Sharim told reporters at the airport that he would meet officials from Houthi movement to pave the way for planned talks that is set to be held in a neutral foreign country under the management and supervision of UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

Sharim declined to reveal topics he would discuss with Houthi officials.

Previous attempts by the UN envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed had failed to reach a political settlement between the Yemeni rival forces.

The Saudi-led coalition has intervened in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015 to roll back the Houthi rebels and support the internationally recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who was forced into exile by the Houthis.

The nearly three years into Yemen's civil war have killed over 10,000 Yemenis, mostly children, and displaced 3 million others, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

The war between Houthis and the coalition-backed Hadi's government forces has recently intensified in the country's northern province of Jawf and the western Red Sea coasts. Enditem