UN calls for de-escalation in Yemen’s Hudaydah

By Fuad Mosaad

ISTANBUL (AA) – The UN Mission to Support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) on Sunday urged Yemen’s warring rivals to calm down the situation and avoid harming civilians and their properties.

"UNMHA appeals to the parties to de-escalate the situation and take all measures to avoid incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and damage to civilian objects," the UN mission said in a statement on Twitter.

In the past few weeks, the southern areas of Hudaydah province witnessed fierce fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels, forcing thousands of civilians to flee their areas.

The UN estimates that more than 25,000 Yemenis have been displaced in Hudaydah last month.

"Women and children continue to suffer from the brunt of hostilities between the warring parties in the southern districts of Hudaydah," UNMHA said.

On Dec. 13, 2018, Yemeni government representatives and Houthi rebel leaders held UN-brokered talks in Swedish capital Stockholm that yielded a cease-fire deal and the swapping of prisoners in Hudaydah.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian crises, with nearly 80% or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

A recent United Nations report projected that by the year’s end, the death toll from the seven-year Yemeni conflict will reach 377,000.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara