Yemen peace talks set for early December in Sweden

Peace talks aimed at ending the war in Yemen have been set for early December in Sweden, between Houthi rebels and the UN-recognized government, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday.

Mattis said the Saudis and United Arab Emirates - who have backed President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in the brutal three-year-old war - "are fully on board, by the way."

"It looks like that very, very early in December, up in Sweden, we'll see both the Houthi rebel side and the UN-recognized government, President Hadi's government, will be up there."

Earlier, the UN Yemen envoy flew into the rebel-held capital Sanaa to push for fresh peace talks following fierce fighting for the lifeline port of Hodeida that has ramped up fears of widespread famine.

Under heavy Western pressure, the government and its Saudi-led military backers have largely suspended a five-month-old offensive on the Red Sea port city as UN envoy Martin Griffiths makes the biggest peace push in two years.

The international community is demanding in return that the rebels halt all offensive operations, particularly missile attacks on neighbouring Saudi Arabia, and commit to joining talks on handing over of the port of Hodeida to UN control.

The World Health Organization says nearly 10,000 people - mostly civilians - have been killed in Yemen since the Saudi-led intervention began, but human rights groups believe the toll may be five times higher.

Save the Children said on Wednesday that some 85,000 infants under the age of five may have died of severe malnutrition or related diseases between March 2015 and this October based on UN agency figures.