ADEN, Dec 23, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – UN monitors arrived in Yemen on Saturday to
oversee a fragile ceasefire in the rebel-held city of Hodeida, the latest
push to secure peace in the devastated country.
It comes a day after the UN Security Council unanimously approved a
resolution authorising the deployment of observers to Hodeida, a lifeline
port city which serves as the entry point for the majority of imports to war-
torn Yemen.
A team led by Patrick Cammaert, a retired Dutch general, landed in Aden
where the internationally recognised government is based.
Cammaert was welcomed on arrival by Saghir bin Aziz, a general who heads
the government team in a joint committee — with Huthi rebels — which is
tasked with organising the withdrawal of troops from Hodeida.
Another group of observers arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on a UN
plane from Jordan, according to an AFP photographer.
After meeting with leaders in Aden, Cammaert was also due to travel to
Sanaa Sunday and then onwards to Hodeida.
The UN said in a statement that in his meeting with government appointees
in Aden, “Cammaert stressed that the success or failure of the Stockholm
Agreement rested solely with the parties”.
“He urged the Government of Yemen and Coalition forces to uphold the
ceasefire… and sought their commitment and cooperation to secure the
unhindered flow of humanitarian aid into and across the country as a matter
of urgency,” the UN said.
Hodeida is held by Yemen’s Huthi rebels and has been subjected to an
offensive by pro-government forces, backed by a military coalition led by
Saudi Arabia.
A halt to fighting in the strategic port city follows intense diplomatic
efforts which culminated in peace talks last week in Sweden, where the
warring parties agreed to the truce which came into force on Tuesday.
The ceasefire remained shaky, however, with both sides accusing each other
of violations in Hodeida province.
The UN monitoring team could consist of 30 to 40 people, according to
diplomats, and aims to secure the functioning of Hodeida port and supervise
the withdrawal of fighters from the city.
– ‘Full respect’ for truce –
The text approved by the Security Council “insists on the full respect by
all parties of the ceasefire agreed” for Hodeida.
It authorises the United Nations to “establish and deploy, for an initial
period of 30 days from the adoption of this resolution, an advance team to
begin monitoring” the ceasefire, under Cammaert’s leadership.
The resolution was backed by rebel negotiator Mohammed Abdelsalam, who
said late Friday it marked “an important step towards stopping the aggression
and lifting the blockade”.
He was referring to the Saudi-led military coalition which intervened in
2015 and imposed a blockade on Yemeni waters and airports.
Quoted by the rebel-run Al-Masirah TV, he criticised, however, the
resolution for not condemning the “crimes of the aggressors”.
The government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi reaffirmed its
“commitment (to respect) the agreement” reached in Sweden and endorsed by the
UN resolution.
In a statement also released late Friday, the Yemeni government pledged to
work “in a positive spirit” with UN envoy Martin Griffiths towards a lasting
political agreement to end the war.
Saudi Arabia also welcomed the resolution.
Khalid Manzalawi, the kingdom’s deputy permanent representative to the UN,
said the resolution means that the Huthis “will lose their margin of
manoeuvre”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Around 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led intervention,
according to the World Health Organization, although rights groups say the
death toll could be five times higher. The conflict has unleashed a major
humanitarian crisis and pushed 14 million Yemenis to the brink of famine.
The aid group Save the Children welcomed the UN resolution but said that
more needed to be done in a country where around 85,000 children are
estimated to have died from extreme hunger and disease.
“The final text fell short in recognising the sheer scale of the
humanitarian crisis and to call for investigations into alleged violations of
international humanitarian law in Yemen,” it said in a statement.
“Council members need to put politics aside in the new year and be ready
to take further action to support the political process and address the
humanitarian situation on the ground. The lives of thousands of Yemeni
children remain at stake,” it added.