BERN, Switzerland — Peace talks between Yemen's warring sides were suspended Sunday as fierce fighting wracked the country and the United Nations blamed ''numerous violations'' of a cease-fire agreement.
''There was noticeable progress but not enough to reunite Yemen . . . unfortunately there were numerous violations" of the cease-fire, he said, adding that the two sides had agreed on a framework for further negotiations on Jan. 14. ''It's very clear that, unfortunately, the cease-fire that was agreed upon as I said earlier wasn't respected, and in some cases was violated from the first hours, even of these talks,'' he said.
The talks began Tuesday in the Swiss village of Macolin.
The Yemen conflict pits the internationally recognized government backed by a Saudi-led, US-supported coalition against the rebel Houthis, who are allied with a former president and backed by Iran. Local affiliates of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State group have exploited the chaos to grab land and exercise influence.
On Saturday, airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition pounded the country's north. More than 40 rebels and 35 government troops were killed in the three days to Saturday, Yemeni security officials and witnesses said, speaking anonymously.
According to UN figures, the war in Yemen has killed at least 5,884 people since March, when fighting escalated after the Saudi-led coalition began launching airstrikes targeting the rebels.
In Saturday's clashes in Hajjah Province, near the Saudi border, dozens of tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, according to the witnesses and security officials.
The government troops advanced across the border from Saudi territory after having trained there for months.
The Houthis had earlier agreed to permit humanitarian aid deliveries into the besieged city of Taiz, as well as the cities of Saada and Hajjah, the capital of the province where the fresh fighting was taking place over the weekend.
But the rebels then canceled the planned release of five high-profile prisoners they had agreed to let go earlier in the day as a measure of good will, as well as their decision to lift the siege of Taix, Houthi and pro-government officials at the Berntalks said.
The five prisoners, including Defense Minister Mahmoud Subaihi and General Nasser Mansour Hadi, the brother of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, were to have been handed over to the Red Cross on Saturday.
But officials at the negotiations from the Houthi delegation as well as from the government side said that the Houthis would not release the prisoners unless the United Nations consolidated the cease-fire.
The participants spoke anonymously since they were not authorized to brief reporters.