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YEMEN-CONFLICT
Yemen rebels mobilise to fight ahead of UN envoy visit
SANAA, Nov 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Yemeni rebels have said they are ready to
mobilise more fighters to the frontline despite a lull in battleground
Hodeida, as the UN envoy prepares to visit the country to boost peace
efforts.
Dozens of Huthi rebels put on a show of strength on the outskirts of the
capital Sanaa on Saturday, apparently getting ready to head towards Hodeida,
a Red Sea city home to a vital port.
Residents told AFP by telephone on Sunday that relative calm had held in
Hodeida city since pro-government forces — backed by a Saudi-led military
coalition — announced a pause in their offensive last week amid
international calls for a ceasefire and UN-led peace efforts.
UN special envoy Martin Griffiths — whose efforts at kick-starting peace
talks collapsed in September — said on Friday that he plans to travel to
rebel-held Sanaa next week to finalise arrangements for peace talks to take
place in Sweden soon.
Hameed Assem, a member of the rebel delegation expected to take part in the
negotiations, said that Huthis will continue to mobilise if UN efforts for
peace fail to materialise.
“We are ready for dialogue at any time when there is real dialogue that
leads to peace,” he told AFP.
“If Griffiths comes, we are ready for dialogue. If he doesn’t come, we are
ready to fight until (our) last breath.”
Diplomatic efforts to end the war intensified last week after clashes
escalated in Hodeida, whose port serves as an entry point for nearly all of
the country’s commercial imports and humanitarian aid.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned the destruction of the
Hodeida port could trigger a “catastrophic” situation in a country where 14
million people are at risk of starvation.
Pro-government forces on Wednesday suspended their 12-day offensive on the
rebel-held city amid an international outcry, but the Huthis are sceptical
about the move.
“The so-called truce is just a manoeuvre,” Shamsan Abu Nashtan, a rebel
fighter, told AFP.
“The (Huthis) confirm they are ready to mobilise to the battlefronts.”
The rebels seized the capital Sanaa and Hodeida in 2014, prompting Saudi
Arabia and its allies to intervene on the government’s side the following
year.
Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since then, according to the World
Health Organization.
Rights groups believe the toll may be five times as high.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1643 hrs