Local Editor
The UN envoy for Yemen has arrived in the capital Sana’a to discuss a recent UN-sponsored peace agreement on the country's lifeline port city of Hodeida amid reported clashes between the warring parties.
Yemen’s two warring parties, namely Houthi Ansarullah movement and the country’s former Saudi-backed resigned regime, reached an agreement on a ceasefire in the Houthi-held port in Sweden on December 13.
Martin Griffiths, who arrived in Sana’a on Saturday, is scheduled to discuss the truce with Houthi leaders and will later travel to the Saudi capital Riyadh to meet with former Yemeni government officials.
The Ansarullah movement has been running state affairs from Sana’a in the absence of an effective government besides defending the country against the Saudi aggression.
During his stay in Sana’a, Griffiths would also hold talks with retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert, who heads a United Nations advance team tasked with monitoring the ceasefire in Hodeida.
Griffiths' visit comes amid reported clashes between Houthi fighters and militants loyal to the country’s former Saudi-backed regime with both sides blaming each other.
Hodeida, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the Saudi-led aggression, which began in March 2015.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched the Hodeida offensive in June but have been facing strong resistance from Yemeni armed forces — led by the Houthis — as well as the city’s residents.
The Saudi war has killed tens of thousands of Yemeni people and made the country the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
The imposed war initially consisted of an airstrike campaign but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground mercenaries to Yemen.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
