UN pushes for truce and aid at Yemen talks

With 24 hours left before the scheduled close of UN-brokered talks on Yemen, mediators pushed Wednesday for a truce between warring parties as a crucial step to allow aid deliveries.

Mediators are seeking a de-escalation of violence in two flashpoint cities: rebel-held Hodeida, a port city vital to the supply of humanitarian aid, and Taiz, Yemen's third largest city, scene of some of the war's most intense fighting.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was due in Rimbo late Wednesday for Thursday's closing round of consultations.

Both government and rebel representatives traded accusations of unwillingness to negotiate, particularly on rebel-held Hodeida, the main route for 90 per cent of food imports and nearly 80 per cent of aid deliveries.

Multiple draft proposals have been submitted to the two delegations over the past week. None have found consensus as yet.

"I think there is some progress, even if it's with much difficulty. It's slow progress," rebel representative Abdelmalik al-Ajri told AFP.

"We are faced with the intransigence of the other side.

"Things should become clearer today."