CAIRO: Yemen’s government said on Saturday that peace talks due to be held on Jan. 14 would most probably be postponed beyond that date.

“The thinking is to postpone the round of peace talks from mid-January to another date,” spokesman Rajeh Badi told Reuters.

A pro-Hadi coalition has been fighting the Shiite Houthi militants. Negotiations to end the conflict were set to resume next week, with the UN special envoy to Yemen saying they would most likely take place in Geneva.

Badi said the announcement by former President Ali Abdullah Saleh that he would not take part in the talks and the lack of Houthi commitment to carrying out their promises of releasing prisoners were among the reasons behind the push for postponement.