UN proposes new chief for observer mission
new york — United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has proposed a replacement for the head of the observer mission in warwracked Yemen, retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert, only one month after his arrival, diplomats said on Monday.
Former Danish general Michael Lollesgaard has been tapped to replace Cammaert, the diplomats said. His candidacy has been proposed to the UN Security Council, which has 48 hours to accept or refuse, one source said.
Cammaert’s ties with the Houthi rebels and the UN special envoy to the country, Martin Griffiths, had been tense, they said. The UN envoy for Yemen briefly visited the flashpoint city of Hodeida on Tuesday, an official said, the diplomat’s first trip there since warring parties agreed to a ceasefire last month.
Martin Griffiths was in the Red Sea port city “for a few hours” to oversee the truce deal’s implementation and “follow up on preparations” for a new monitoring mission, the UN official said.
Yemen’s government and Houthi rebels reached a deal over Hodeida at peace talks brokered by Griffiths in Sweden last month.
The agreement stipulates a full ceasefire, followed by the withdrawal of rival forces from the city — two clauses that have yet to be fulfilled.
The United Nations Security Council this month unanimously adopted Resolution 2452, which calls for the deployment of up to 75 monitors to oversee the fragile ceasefire and pullback of forces from Hodeida. —