Could ceasefire in Yemen bring hope for peace?

Witnesses and observers in Taiz said the Houthi shelling was responded by the pro-government forces.

Yemen has been torn by fighting pitting the rebels, known as Houthis, and army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against forces of the internationally recognized government, which is backed by the Saudi-led coalition and supported by the United States, as well as southern separatists, religious extremists and other militants.

The truce had originally been expected to start four hours earlier, but the Saudi-led coalition said in a statement reported by Saudi state media late Monday that it had been pushed back.

In the past, the rebels have said they are willing to honor the United Nations resolution but did not specify to whom they would hand over weapons and territory.

Previous UN efforts have failed to narrow differences, and past truces were broken.

In Geneva, the warring parties began the talks facilitated by UN Special Envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

“We hope the (rebel) militias will commit to the ceasefire this time”, said Mueen Abdulmalek, a member of the coalition-backed government’s delegation at peace talks.

The buildup for the ceasefire was overshadowed by confusion over when it would begin. The ceasefire was originally scheduled to start at midnight Monday (2100 GMT, 4 p.m. EST).

According to the source, al-Sahyan had been directing coalition operations from a military site located between the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb and the Al-Omari region of Yemen’s Taiz province.

“Heavy clashes erupted on Tuesday afternoon…the tribes remained on alert after the rebels retreated and residents said they expect fighting to resume in that area”.

Both pro-Hadi forces and insurgent groups have traded barbs over each side’s willingness to stick to the truce.

In Geneva, U.N. spokesman Ahmad Fawzi says 24 people are taking part in the talks that are taking place at an “undisclosed location” in Switzerland.

Further, the United Nations chief urged all parties at the peace talks to engage constructively and in good faith with each other and called on them to safeguard the national interest, agree on practical steps that will end the suffering of the Yemeni people and improve their daily lives.

More than 5,800 people have been killed in Yemen – about half of them civilians – and more than 27,000 wounded since March, according to the UN.

The Huthis, who have long complained of marginalisation, seized the government headquarters in Sanaa in September 2014, several months after advancing from their northern stronghold of Saada. Once exiled in neighboring Saudi Arabia along with his Cabinet, Hadi returned to Aden in recent weeks.