Government warns Houthis to abide by Hodeidah agreement

The Yemeni government yesterday warned that a UN-brokered ceasefire agreement for Hodeidah would fail if the Houthi rebels did not start to withdraw their troops from the province in coming days.

“The next few days are crucial for the implementation of the ceasefire,” a government source told The National.

“If the Houthis refuse to leave Hodeidah, it will lead to the collapse of the agreement.”

The breakthrough was announced on Thursday at the end of a week of negotiations in Sweden, the first talks between the two sides since 2016.

The agreement stipulates that armed forces from both sides must withdraw from three key ports and the rest of the province before government and rebel troops begin leaving Hodeidah city.

Local forces will then take control the city and the ports, which will be under UN supervision.

The UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council on Friday that a team of experts was expected to reach Hodeidah this week to monitor the truce.

The government source said the UN was preparing a resolution to implement the ceasefire, which will not apply to the rest of the country.

The government expects the resolution to be enforced within a week.

“If the rebels fail to stick to what was agreed on and withdraw from Hodeidah within the next few days, then it will be the quickest breakdown of a UN-led deal in history,” the source said.

There were low expectations before the talks in Sweden but they produced important gains for building trust, reducing

violence and the preparation of a political framework for lasting peace after more than three years of war.

The results came as a pleasant surprise for diplomats, but potential pitfalls will need urgent action by the UN if the deal is to hold until the next round of talks scheduled for late January.

Unicef said there were about 600,000 civilians in Hodeidah city, half of them children. Its port is a crucial humanitarian lifeline for the rest of country, which the UN warns is on the brink of famine.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister, Khalid Al Yamani, told The National after the announcement of the Hodeidah agreement that a military withdrawal from the city was “hypothetical” until the rebels pulled out.

Mr Al Yamani said the government and the Arab Coalition supporting it would give the rebels 20 days to withdraw from Hodeidah and allow forces affiliated with the Yemeni government to be posted around the province.

Despite Houthi failures to abide by agreements reached in previous rounds of talks, diplomats remain hopeful.

The US ambassador to Yemen, Mathew Tuller, said what had been achieved in Sweden would build the foundations for trust between the warring parties.

“The main obstacles that we saw, as expected, was the confidence between the two, so just bringing them here is part of the confidence-building measures,” Mr Tuller said.

He said implementation of the Hodeidah deal would increase confidence and bring agreements to build on.

“A little more trust, a little more confidence so step by step we hope to see this progress quickly bring out an end to the war,” Mr Tuller said.

The British ambassador to Yemen, Michael Aron, said he had no reason to believe the parties would go back on what was agreed in Sweden.

“Both parties came to Sweden and were negotiating in good faith, and we expect them to implement what was agreed,” Mr Aron said. He said there would be UN monitors to make sure they did so.

“There’s a UN team that is being assembled that will be in Hodeidah as early as next week,” Mr Aron said.

Unicef said there were about 600,000 civilians in Hodeidah city, half of them children