UN special envoy pushes Houthis to honour their aid corridors promises

The UN special envoy to Yemen yesterday held talks with Houthi leaders in Sanaa before travelling to Riyadh to meet government officials in a bid to salvage a fragile ceasefire in Hodeidah and open humanitarian aid corridors.

Martin Griffiths arrived in the rebel-held Yemeni capital on Saturday for the first time since the ceasefire was agreed to at UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden last month.

A Yemeni government source said Mr Griffiths planned to press the Houthis to open humanitarian corridors for the delivery of aid, which was one of the confidence-building measures agreed on in Sweden as a precursor to further talks.

“The militias are putting what was agreed in Sweden at risk,” the source said.

The UN says about 20 million Yemenis, or two thirds of the population, are dependent on humanitarian aid after nearly four years of war.

Hodeidah is the entry point for about 70 per cent of the country’s food and aid shipments, but most of it is being stolen by the Houthis, UN and government officials say.

Residents in Hodeidah also reported an increase in Houthi attacks and the arrival of rebel reinforcements despite the ceasefire, which went into effect on December 18. Pro-government forces in Hodeidah said Mr Griffiths had failed to hold the Houthis to their deal.

“Mr Griffiths has not convinced the Houthis to withdraw from the city and its three ports because they are linking their withdrawal with the reopening of Sanaa airport, which was not part of the Swedish peace deal,” Col Wathah Al Dubaish, spokesman for the Amalikah Brigades, told The National.

UN officials said Mr Griffiths would fly to Riyadh last night for talks with President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi’s government, but would not visit Hodeidah.

The UN envoy was also scheduled to meet Patrick Cammaert, head of the UN monitoring team sent to Hodeidah under a Security Council resolution endorsing the truce, in Sanaa.

Mr Cammaert leads the Redeployment Co-ordination Committeethat includes rebel and government representatives.

The UN resolution said the warring parties must cease hostilities in Hodeidah and withdraw troops from the city and its ports “within 21 days”.

With the deadline days away, “the only thing Mr Griffiths can do is extend the ceasefire, giving the Houthis more time to keep up their dirty games in the city”, Col Al Dubaish said.