Hodeida deal reached in Sweden
CEASEFIRE IN YEMEN PROVINCE MADE POSSIBLE BY COALITION’S SUSTAINED MILITARY PRESSURE, UAE SAYS
The United Nations secretary general yesterday announced that Yemen’s warring sides have agreed after week-long peace talks in Sweden to a province-wide ceasefire in Hodeida and a withdrawal of troops from the contested Red Sea port city.
Antonio Guterres said that all fighting forces will be withdrawn from Yemen’s port city of Hodeida and that control will pass to local forces, with the UN playing a leading role at the port.
The militia agreed to withdraw from the ports of Hodeida, Al Saleef and Ras Issa within 14 days and a complete withdrawal from Hodeida city within 21 days.
The parties also agreed to open three humanitarian corridors in Taiz to be overseen by UAE forces.
There has not been agreement on a ceasefire in the rest of Yemen beyond Hodeida, Guterres told reporters after peace talks in Sweden.
An agreement on Sana’a airport was expected within a week, he said.
The Yemeni foreign minister and the militia leader shook hands in a highly symbolic gesture on the seventh day of the UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden.
Guterres thanked the Yemeni delegations for what he called “an important step” and “real progress towards future talks to end the conflict” and also said that the next round of talks is planned for the end of January.
The two sides have for months been locked in a stalemated fight over Hodeida.
The government says Iran smuggles weapons through the port city to sustain Al Houthi war efforts.
“This is just the beginning,” Guterres said, speaking at the closing ceremony for the talks in the Swedish town of Rimbo.
He thanked the Yemeni parties “for coming here to discuss a better future for Yemen.”
UN special envoy Martin Griffiths will brief the Security Council on Yemen today.
Meanwhile, the UAE, a key ally of Yemen’s government in a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Al Houthi militants, welcomed the UN-brokered ceasefire for the battleground port city.
“We welcome the (truce) accord reached in Sweden,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.
He attributed the deal to military pressure by the coalition, which intervened in 2015 after the militia seized the capital Sana’a as well as Hodeida and its vital Red Sea port.
The United Arab Emirates, a key ally of Yemen’s government in a Saudi-led coalition fighting Al Houthi rebels, on Thursday welcomed a UN-brokered ceasefire for the battleground port city of Hodeida and touted it as a victory.
“We welcome the [truce] accord reached in Sweden,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.
He attributed the deal to military pressure by the coalition, which intervened in 2015 after the rebels seized the capital Sana’a as well as Hodeida and its vital Red Sea port. “The diplomatic progress was made possible by sustained military pressure against the Al Houthis along the Red Sea and around Hodeida,” Gargash said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, announcing the ceasefire, said the United Nations would play a “leading role” at the port.
“We have a deep appreciation of [special UN envoy] Martin Griffiths for his efforts & perseverance & to the UN commitment to peace and to the people of Yemen,” Gargash tweeted. “We reiterate our sincere appreciation to the 5,000 Emirati soldiers along with Yemeni forces who were ready to liberate the port. Their bravery and commitment made the diplomatic progress possible,” he said. “The Coalition has held its commitment to maintain the flow of humanitarian assistance and to avoid damaging the port.”
The next round of negotiations could take place as early as January.
UN chief optimistic
UN chief Antonio Guterres yesterday announced a series of breakthroughs in talks with rivals in the Yemen conflict, including a ceasefire for a vital port.
The Yemeni foreign minister and the rebel leader shook hands in a highly symbolic gesture on the seventh day of the UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden. Guterres, who flew in to Sweden late Wednesday, announced that the Yemeni government and Al Houthi rebels had agreed on a ceasefire in the port of Hodeida, the main entry point for imported food and aid.
He said the United Nations would play a “leading role” at the Red Sea port, which is currently controlled by the rebels.
In addition, the rivals have reached a “mutual understanding” on Yemen’s city of Taiz, the scene of some of the most intense battles in the conflict.
International pressure has been mounting to halt the fighting between the Iran-backed Al Houthis and the government of Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, backed by Saudi Arabia and its military allies, with the US Senate, Saudi Arabia and the UAE honing in on the fragile talks.
The warring parties have been in the rural Swedish village of Rimbo for a week to try to hammer out agreement on a number of key issues.
The rebels control both the Red Sea port of Hodeida and the capital Sana’a. The Saudi led-military coalition controls Yemen’s maritime borders and airspace. Guterres said a deal on the Sana’a airport was expected within one week.
While mediators were upbeat about progress some sticking points remain.
A framework for political negotiations would be discussed at the next round of talks.
Western nations have pressed the two sides to agree confidence-building steps to pave the way for a wider truce and a political process to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the verge of starvation.
A Saudi-led Arab coalition was formed in 2015 months after an Al Houthi coup ousted Yemen’s internationally-recognised government from Sana’a.
The coalition was able to restore 80 per cent of the country back to government control by major population centres remain under Al Houthi control.
The government is now based in the southern port of Aden. The government, backed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, says that Iran is trying to expand its influence in the country and the fight for Yemen is an exisistential one.