United Nations, Sha'ban 28, 1436, Jun 15, 2015, SPA -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched Yemen peace talks in Geneva on Monday, pressing for a halt to fighting at the beginning of Ramadan, which begins later this week. “Today, Yemen’s very existence hangs in the balance. While the parties bicker, Yemen burns,” the U.N. chief told reporters. “The parties have a responsibility to end the fighting and begin a real process of peace and reconciliation,” he said. Ban, who met Monday with some of the delegations involved in the talks, said he had “emphasized the importance of having another humanitarian pause, at least two weeks,” to allow life-saving supplies into the country. “I’m urging them that, particularly during this Ramadan-which is a period for peace for people, and praying for peace-they must stop.” The UN chief noted that such a cease-fire will not be sufficient to get aid to all needy Yemenis, “given the obstacles to access and the scale of destruction.” He also called for the fighting factions to agree on local cease-fires and withdrawing armed groups from cities. --SPA 19:53 LOCAL TIME 16:53 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w