U.N. special envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed (R) and UN spokesperson Charbel Raji (2nd R) attend a press conference after the first direct meeting between Yemen’s warring factions, at the Kuwait Ministry of Information in Kuwait City April 22, 2016.

The fourth round of the UN-backed Yemen peace talks resumed on Sunday in Kuwait, with hopes of reaching an agreement after progress was made in yesterday’s meetings, the UAE’s state-run news agency reported.

Representatives from the Iran-allied Houthi movement, who control the capital Sanaa, and its General People’s Congress (GPC) allies together with the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, held two sessions at one of the Kuwaiti emir’s palaces with the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Yemen, Ismael Ould Cheikh Ahmed.

The evening session led to an agreement to set up a ceasefire-monitoring panel made up of one person from each party.

Efforts to augment the ceasefire agreement that began on April 10 were discussed, as well as the launch of a peaceful process in Yemen based on the GCC-led peace initiative.

The delegation also called on armed groups to withdraw from areas and to hand over weapons to the state in order to resume a comprehensive political dialogue, and form a special committee to deal with prisoners and detainees.

The talks aimed at ending Yemen’s civil war were opened in Kuwait on April 21. Kuwait’s foreign minister appealing to both sides to “turn war into peace” after more than a year of conflict which has killed thousands of people and caused a humanitarian crisis.

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