Sana’a: The United Nations cast doubt Sunday on claims by Yemen’s Iran-backed Al Houthi militants to have withdrawn from the Red Sea port of Hodeida, saying such steps can only be credible if all other parties can verify them.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said the militants, known as Al Houthis, also failed to honour an agreement to open a “humanitarian” corridor between Hodeida and the capital, Sana’a, to deliver assistance. Both cities are under militant control.
He said retired Dutch Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, who heads a UN team of monitors in Hodeida, has expressed his “disappointment at their missed opportunity to build confidence between the parties” in a meeting with militant representatives about their failure to open the corridor.
The confidence-building measures agreed in Sweden this month, which include an exchange of prisoners, could pave the way for a political settlement of Yemen’s 4-year-old war, which pits the Iran-aligned Houthis against the government and a Saudi-led coalition.
The two sides have observed a cease-fire in Hodeida for nearly two weeks, ending months of fierce fighting for control of the city.
Some 70 per cent of Yemen’s imports come through Hodeida, and the Sweden deal is designed in part to facilitate the delivery of relief supplies to pull Yemen back from the brink of famine.
The fighting in Yemen, the poorest Arab nation, has killed tens of thousands of people and driven millions to hunger. The UN calls it the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
Al Houthis said Saturday they handed over control of the Hodeida port to the coast guard under the Sweden agreement, but the government denied this, saying it was a ploy by the militants to maintain control.
Government officials said the Al Houthi-appointed commander of the coast guard in Hodeida is a longtime militant commander who had never served in the coast guard before.
The estimated 300 members of Hodeida’s coast guard had not reported for work in months and have been replaced by personnel loyal to Al Houthis, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
In his meeting with the militant representatives, Cammaert welcomed Al Houthis’ efforts to start implementation of the Sweden agreement, but noted that this must be “concurrent,” said Dujarric, the UN spokesman.
The Dutch envoy also emphasised that any redeployment would only be credible if all parties and the UN were able to observe and verify it.
Cammaert planned to meet Tuesday with representatives of both sides to discuss “the redeployment plans of the parties and the liaison, monitoring and coordination mechanism that will be required to monitor the ceasefire and ensure that credible redeployment is achieved,” according to Dujarric.
