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UN pushes back Yemen peace talks

With UN talks on Yemen delayed amid escalating fighting, veteran diplomats say Pompeo should work with the UK to revive the Friends of Yemen and give UN efforts to end the conflict more sustained, high-level attention.
Abdullah al-Khawlani stands with his son, Hafidh, who survived a Saudi-led air strike stand on the wreckage of a bus destroyed by the strike in Saada, Yemen September 4, 2018. Another son of al-Khawlani was killed by the strike. Picture taken September 4, 2018. REUTERS/Naif Rahma - RC1F0E3F8DD0

WASHINGTON — The United Nations said today that it would push back plans for Yemen peace talks this month amid an escalation by Saudi- and Emirati-backed fighters toward the vital Red Sea port of Hodeidah, in what appeared to be a setback for recent US and UN calls on the Yemen parties to de-escalate fighting. But US officials said they were not overly concerned about the possible delay.

UN Yemen envoy Martin Griffiths will now seek to get the warring parties to political talks in a third country by the end of the year, a UN spokesman said.

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