Local Editor
The U.N. envoy for Yemen landed in the capital Sana’a Monday for talks aimed at shoring up a truce between the Houthi Ansarullah movement and a regime alliance in the port city of Hodeida.
Martin Griffiths landed in the capital at around 10:30 am local time, an official at Sana’a airport told AFP on condition of anonymity.
A U.N. source confirmed the news, saying Griffiths was in Yemen to "work on the rapid implementation of the Hodeida agreement."
Griffiths hosted hard-won peace talks between Yemen's resigned regime, allied with a Saudi-led coalition, and Houthi revolutionaries in Sweden last month.
Monday's visit marks Griffiths' second trip to Yemen this month.
The resigned Hadi regime and the Houthis agreed to a cease-fire in Hodeida, the Red Sea city is home to impoverished Yemen's most valuable port.
The Hodeida agreement stipulates the withdrawal and redeployment of rival forces from the city, two clauses that have yet to be fulfilled.
Hodeida was for months the main front line in the Yemen war after Hadi loyalists supported by Saudi Arabia and its allies launched an offensive to capture it in June.
But a precarious calm has largely held in the city since a ceasefire agreement came into force on Dec. 18.
The U.N. said a team tasked with monitoring the truce, led by chief monitor Patrick Cammaert, came under fire in Hodeida on Friday but was unharmed.
The U.N. did not identify who was behind the shooting.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
