Yemen factions locked in unending struggle despite promise of peace talks

Talks brokered by United Nations special envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed are scheduled for 15 December, most probably at a location just outside Geneva, after President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Houthi rebels reached a tentative agreement to discuss the conflict; it may include a ceasefire that would ease pressure on traumatised populations. But levels of violence remain alarmingly high, from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Islamic State (IS, or Daesh) and other Islamist groups, the Houthis and their General People’s Congress (GPC) allies, and the Saudi-led coalition, which is not only bombing but also building up ground forces, with some allies suggesting an assault on Sanaa could yet follow (GSN 1,004/1).