(VOVworld) - Yemen’s warring parties began face-to-face peace talks on Saturday on “key issues” in a bid to end the 13-month civil war. Key issues included the withdrawal of armed groups, a handover of heavy weapons, the resumption of a political transition, and the release of prisoners. Yemen’s UN envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed stated that despite positive signs of a political understanding between the opposing factions, there are still several obstacles to peace.

Yemen’s UN envoy Ould Cheikh Ahmed (Photo: Reuters)

This round of direct peace talks followed an agreement between the Yemeni government and rebel groups on a framework for a political and security solution to end the conflict. Rebels proposed the formation of an agency which will monitor the political transition and the lifting of the blockade imposed by the Saudi-led military coalition on Yemen. Rebel proposals include the exclusion of incumbent President Mansour Hadi and former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen’s coming elections