Yemen’s Hodeida calm after truce takes effect
The truce agreed at the UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden came into effect at midnight on Monday, but sources said heavy clashes and air raids continued after the deadline
SANAA: Yemen’s flashpoint city of Hodeida was calm on Tuesday following heavy clashes that erupted after a UN-brokered ceasefire started at midnight, pro-government sources and residents said.
The truce agreed at the UNsponsored peace talks in Sweden came into effect at midnight on Monday, but sources said heavy clashes and air raids continued after the deadline.
“There has been complete calm since 3am Yemen time (1200 GMT) in the city of Hodeida,” a military source loyal to the government said on Tuesday.
Residents confirmed by phone that there has been no fighting between the government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels since 3am. But it was not possible to determine if the halt in fighting was in response to the ceasefire or just a temporary stoppage. Residents said that daily fighting would usually be fierce in the evening and at night, before coming to a standstill at dawn.
The two warring sides have however welcomed the truce in the strategic Red Sea province.
Both the internationally-recognised government and the Houthi rebels said they would comply with the ceasefire.
The United Nations said on Monday that the deal was to be implemented at midnight, even though the agreement reached in Sweden last week included an “immediate ceasefire” in Hodeida and its surroundings. A UN official, who requested anonymity, said that the delay was necessary for “operational reasons”.
UN envoy Martin Griffiths said on Sunday that the UN was working with both sides to ensure the ceasefire accord was “implemented timely and properly”.
The truce is supposed to be followed by the withdrawal of fighters from Hodeida, whose port is the entry point for the vast majority of imports to Yemen.
A prisoner swap involving some 15,000 detainees is planned and a “mutual understanding” was reached to facilitate aid deliveries to Yemen’s third city Taiz -- under the control of loyalists but besieged by rebels.
The two sides also agreed to meet again in late January for more talks to define the framework for negotiations on a comprehensive peace settlement.
Ahead of the ceasefire coming into force, residents in Hodeida city hoped Monday that it would lead to lasting peace.
“We are hopeful that things will go back to the way they were and that there would be no aggression, no airstrikes and lasting security,” Amani Mohammed said.
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