UPDATE - Security Council OKs deployment of UN monitors in Yemen

ADDS MORE DETAILS

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Security Council unanimously adopted Friday a British-sponsored resolution approving the deployment of a UN team to monitor a truce at a vital port city in Yemen.

The resolution authorizes Secretary General Antonio General to send an advance team to al-Hudaydah for an initial period of 30 days.

Yemen's warring parties agreed last week to withdraw their forces from the Red Sea port city and institute a ceasefire during UN-sponsored talks in Sweden.

The truce went into effect on Tuesday.

The adoption of the British resolution follows the U.S. withdrawal of its rival effort, which called out Iran, after it failed to garner the necessary support for passage. Russia opposed the inclusion of the Iran language.

The UN's special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, called on the council last week to quickly institute a "robust monitoring regime" to ensure the ceasefire hold.

The UN-brokered talks began in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on Dec. 6 in an effort to end Yemen's 4-year military conflict.

Saudi Arabia has been leading a coalition of countries against the Houthis since 2015 when Riyadh and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains that began the year prior.

The Saudi-led campaign in Yemen has devastated the country's infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe it as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.

Al-Hudaydah is a major lifeline for Yemen's beleaguered civilian population with significant amounts of humanitarian aid flowing through the port city.

*Betul Yuruk contributed to the story from the Untied Nations