Local Editor
The United Nations on Wednesday will convene the parties to Yemen’s conflict by video link to discuss the redeployment of all forces from Hodeida’s provincial capital of the same name, and three other ports, under the deal.
It will be the first meeting of a Redeployment Coordination Committee that oversees the ceasefire and the withdrawal of forces, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
“It will include military/security representatives from the two sides,” he explained.
The two sides have agreed to meet again in late January for more talks to define the framework for negotiations on a “peace settlement.”
The UN said on Monday that a ceasefire would take effect in Hodeida, located 150 kilometers southwest of the capital Sana'a, at 3:00 a.m. local time (2400 GMT).
The truce was agreed at the UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden last week.
The two warring sides have welcomed the ceasefire in Hodeida, and said they would comply with it.
The truce is supposed to be followed by the withdrawal of Houthi fighters as well as pro-Hadi militiamen.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating military campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the aim of bringing the government of Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah movement.
According to a new report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, the Saudi-led war has so far claimed the lives of around 56,000 Yemenis.
The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.
According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
