MANAMA - The U.N. special envoy to Yemen said on Sunday he expects talks between its warring parties to begin by mid-November, eight months after the start of a messy civil war that has killed thousands and caused a humanitarian crisis.

The conflict pits the Iran-allied Houthi militia and army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh against armed groups who support exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi alongside a Saudi-led Arab coalition.

"I expect that before mid-November, God willing, a date will be specified and I expect that the dialogue must begin before mid-November, as a minimum, 15 November," U.N. envoy Ismail OuldCheikh Ahmed told Reuters in Bahrain.

All major combatants have publicly agreed to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls on Houthi and Saleh forces to withdraw from main cities and surrender arms captured from Yemeni government forces.

However, while Hadi and the coalition have previously demanded that this happen before talks begin, the Houthis and Saleh want talks to address mechanism for Resolution 2216 to be implemented. Discussions between the United Nations and the Houthis have taken place already in Oman's capital Muscat.(Reuters)