Yemen war: UN-backed peace talks set to begin in Sweden

The UN-sponsored peace talks aimed at ending nearly four years of civil war in Yemen will begin in Sweden.

A UN team will work together with Yemeni government delegations and Houthi rebels at Johannesburg Castle outside Stockholm to allow informal talks lasting a week.

The war has caused the worst humanitarian crisis in the world in recent times.

Thousands of people have been killed in fighting and millions have been pushed to the brink of starvation.

The consultations are being resumed for the first time since 2016. The last attempt at a negotiated peace collapsed in September when the Houthis did not show up in Geneva.

What will happen?

The last talks are not expected to make a big breakthrough. Correspondents say that the key objective of this round is to avoid a total battle for the rebel port in the Red Sea of ​​Hudaydah, where thousands of civilians are trapped.

The UN also hopes to create a framework for talks on what the future political solution will be like in Yemen.

Officials said the talks, which are expected to last a week, would be informal, through working groups.

"In some issues it will make sense that the two parties feel together, in others they will discuss in separate groups," a source told the BBC.

Representatives of the internationally recognized government, backed by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia, traveled to Sweden on Wednesday. A day earlier, the UN special envoy, Martin Griffiths, had accompanied the Houthis backed by Iran to Stockholm.

Small steps towards peace.

Analysis of the BBC's chief correspondent, Lyse Doucet, in the talks

So deep is the distrust between the parties in conflict that even presenting to the talks for the first time in two years is a significant breakthrough and an achievement for the UN envoy, Martin Griffiths.

The confidence-building measures that made this happen, including the commitment of both sides to release hundreds of prisoners, have been described as "a big step".

Stockholm is about small steps. There will be no talk of a ceasefire, not even around the key port of Hudaydah, Yemen's lifeguard. The language is de-escalation and moderation.

The coalition led by Saudi Arabia and its allies of the Yemeni government continue to believe that removing Hudaydah from the Houthis is the best way to end this war. Houthis aligned to Iran are digging.

Mr. Griffiths wants them, at least, to start talking about a different future and start taking measures that can alleviate a serious humanitarian crisis. Yemen desperately needs to avoid an even greater disaster. But the logic of war still prevails, and tragically so.

The UN envoy, Martin Griffiths, (center) accompanied the Houthi delegation to Sweden

Security is strict at Johannesburg Castle, north of Stockholm, where talks will take place.

Just before leaving, the government representative, Abdullah al-Alimi, tweeted that the talks were "a real opportunity for peace."

The head of the Houthi delegation, Mohammed Abdelsalam, promised "to spare no effort for the talks to be successful", but also warned the rebel fighters to remain "vigilant against any attempt at a military escalation".

In preparation for the talks, Griffiths successfully negotiated the evacuation of 50 wounded Houthis to Oman for treatment.

The coalition said the measure had been agreed as a confidence-building measure before talks in Sweden.

Why is there a war in Yemen?

Yemen has been devastated by a conflict that intensified in early 2015, when the Houthis took control of much of the west of the country and forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad.

Alarmed by the emergence of a group they saw as an Iranian representative, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and seven other Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government.

The war has had a devastating effect on the civilian population.

According to the United Nations, at least 6,660 civilians were killed and 10,560 were injured in the fighting. Thousands more civilians have died from preventable causes, including malnutrition, disease and poor health.

The World Health Organization warned in October that about 10,000 new suspected cases of cholera are reported each week.