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AFP
Hodeida
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have handed over security of key Red Sea ports to the “coastguard” but much work remains to remove military equipment, the UN said Tuesday.
The rebel pullback is part of a hard-won truce agreement struck in Sweden in December between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis. But the government has accused the insurgents of merely handing over the ports to their own forces in different uniforms.
The UN said Sunday it had been monitoring the withdrawal of the Houthi rebels from the Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa terminals. A UN team was there on Tuesday to verify the redeployment. Its head, General Michael Lollesgaard, welcomed the handover “of the security of the ports to the coastguard”, according to a UN statement.
“There is still a lot of work to be done on the removal of the manifestations, but cooperation has been very good. “UN teams will continue to monitor these initial steps in an impartial and transparent manner.” The city’s port serves as a lifeline for millions in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, which has been pushed to the brink of famine by more than four years of devastating war.
Last year’s deal was hailed as a breakthrough that offered the best chance so far of ending the war in Yemen, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is fighting on the government’s side.
The agreement stipulates a full ceasefire, followed by a withdrawal of rival forces from the city of Hodeida and its surroundings. But although the violence has largely stopped in Hodeida, there have been intermittent clashes and the promised redeployment of the warring parties away from the front lines has failed to materialise.
Hodeida
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have handed over security of key Red Sea ports to the “coastguard” but much work remains to remove military equipment, the UN said Tuesday.
The rebel pullback is part of a hard-won truce agreement struck in Sweden in December between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Iran-aligned Houthis. But the government has accused the insurgents of merely handing over the ports to their own forces in different uniforms.
The UN said Sunday it had been monitoring the withdrawal of the Houthi rebels from the Hodeida, Saleef and Ras Issa terminals. A UN team was there on Tuesday to verify the redeployment. Its head, General Michael Lollesgaard, welcomed the handover “of the security of the ports to the coastguard”, according to a UN statement.
“There is still a lot of work to be done on the removal of the manifestations, but cooperation has been very good. “UN teams will continue to monitor these initial steps in an impartial and transparent manner.” The city’s port serves as a lifeline for millions in the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country, which has been pushed to the brink of famine by more than four years of devastating war.
Last year’s deal was hailed as a breakthrough that offered the best chance so far of ending the war in Yemen, where a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates is fighting on the government’s side.
The agreement stipulates a full ceasefire, followed by a withdrawal of rival forces from the city of Hodeida and its surroundings. But although the violence has largely stopped in Hodeida, there have been intermittent clashes and the promised redeployment of the warring parties away from the front lines has failed to materialise.
