UN envoy: Progress being made in Yemen peace talks

FILE- In this Thursday, May 19, 2016 file photo, Shiite Houthi tribesmen hold their weapons as they chant slogans during a tribal gathering showing support for the Houthi movement, in Sanaa, Yemen. During a Saturday, May 21, 2016 meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the emir of Qatar, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi agreed to send the government delegation back to the talks, according to a U.N. statement. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) (The Associated Press)

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FILE- In this Sunday, May 22, 2016 file photo, a man holds Yemen's flag during a ceremony to commemorate the 26th anniversary of Yemen's reunification, in Sanaa, Yemen. During a Saturday, May 21, 2016 meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the emir of Qatar, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi agreed to send the government delegation back to the talks, according to a U.N. statement. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed, File) (The Associated Press)

Men with Yemen's flag painted on their faces attend a ceremony to commemorate the 26th anniversary of Yemen's reunification, in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, May 22, 2016. South and North Yemen were independent states until unification in 1990. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed) (The Associated Press)

DOHA, Qatar – The U.N. envoy for Yemen says peace talks aimed at ending fighting in the impoverished Arab country are making "incredible progress" and that a halt in fighting is largely holding.

Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said at a forum in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Sunday that a cessation of hostilities is holding around 80 to 90 percent, even if pockets of violence continue. He says the drop in fighting has allowed much-needed aid to make its way to areas affected by the fighting.

He says he is hopeful that most of the thorniest issues in the conflict have been discussed during peace talks taking place in Kuwait and that a resolution could be "very close."