Dubai: A ceasefire in Yemen’s battleground port city of Hodeidah and its surroundings will start today, officials say, after renewed fighting threatened the hard-won accord struck in Sweden.
The deal announced on Thursday between Yemen’s Saudi-backed government and the Houthi rebels included an “immediate ceasefire” in Hodeidah, whose Red Sea port serves as a crucial gateway for humanitarian aid.
A UN official, who requested anonymity, said that the delay to the halt in hostilities until midnight last night was necessary for “operational reasons”.
Yemen’s Foreign Minister Khaled Al Yamani also told state-run television late on Sunday that the ceasefire would begin at midnight.
An official in the Saudi-led coalition confirmed the timing, adding that details on implementing the truce deal “were not clear at the beginning”.
The coalition “has no intention of violating the agreement... unless the Houthis violate and dishonour it,” the official said.
Residents in Hodeidah and the surrounding areas have reported fierce fighting and air strikes in recent days, as clashes continued between government forces and the Iran-aligned Houthis.
At least 29 fighters, including 22 Houthi rebels, were killed on Saturday night in Hodeidah province, a pro-government military source said.
Two Hodeidah residents reached by telephone said that they could hear intermittent clashes to the east and south of the city yesterday.
A pro-government military official said that there were sporadic clashes, adding that a fire erupted in one of the factories in the east of the city due to strikes on Sunday night.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) voiced alarm about “the continuous fighting” in Hodeidah.
The medical aid group said its teams on the ground were treating victims of gunshots, shelling and air strikes, urging warring parties “to respect the presence of civilians and health infrastructures”.
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 Hodeidah.