Yemenis carry food aid into besieged Taiz city

Sanaa - Residents defy the siege laid by Houthis, pro-Saleh militia.

Residents of the Governorate of Taiz have managed to take 12.5 tonnes of flour into the governorate's capital after they broke the siege laid by the Houthi rebels and militia loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
In a show of solidarity, men, women and children from across the governorate crossed the mountains surrounding Taiz city on foot carrying bags of flour to the besieged city which is still facing a shortage of food, water and medicines as the rebel militia continued to shell residential areas.
The effort was part of the "Hand in Hand to Break the Siege Laid on Taiz" campaign, being conducted by the residents of Yemen's southwestern governorate using local resources and donations.
Meanwhile, the UN special envoy for Yemen said on Thursday he was confident that peace talks between the government and Shia rebels will "probably" be held in mid-November in Geneva.
Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, contacted in the Gulf by telephone, said his team was in contact with the Yemeni parties to discuss the modalities of the UN-brokered peace talks.
"I am very optimistic" that the talks will take place "between 10 and 15" November or "around November 15", he said.
"We are 90 per cent agreed that they will be in Geneva, but there is also a possibility of Muscat. It will probably be Geneva," said Ould Cheikh Ahmed.
He stressed that the two sides were being positive, "both the Houthis who have shown a lot of flexibility, as well as the government side. Today there is an optimism on which I would like to capitalise."
On statements from Riyadh that Saudi-led military operations in support of the Yemeni government are nearing an end, the UN envoy said: "I am convinced that they are sincere." Yemen has since March, when the coalition launched air strikes, been wracked by a conflict that has claimed nearly 5,000 lives, according to the UN.
A first attempt to hold peace talks in Geneva collapsed in June without the warring parties even sitting down in the same room.
Last month, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi's government backed away from talks that were to be held in Oman, insisting that the rebels first withdraw from captured territory in Yemen.
The Houthis overran Sanaa unopposed in September 2014 and went on to battle for control of several regions, aided by troops loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

• MENA