Yemen rebels announce deal on Hudaydah aid delivery

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) – Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Saturday announced a deal with the government to reopen a road between Sanaa and the port city of Al-Hudaydah to allow access to relief aid.

“An initial agreement has been reached between Houthi and government representatives to reopen the main road between Sanaa and Al-Hudaydah,” Houthi negotiator Hamid Assem told Anadolu Agency.

He, however, did not give an exact date for reopening the road, which was shut months ago due to fighting between Houthi rebels and government forces.

“The two sides have also agreed to allow the entry of 12 aid ships into the strategic port,” Assem said.

The Houthi negotiator said the agreements were the result of talks with UN monitors led by retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert.

Home to several strategic seaports, Al-Hudaydah constitutes a lifeline for Yemen's beleaguered civilian population, with significant amounts of humanitarian aid regularly flowing through the port city.

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

And last week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a British-sponsored resolution approving the deployment of a UN team to monitor Al-Hudaydah ceasefire.

Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014 when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sana’a, forcing the government to flee to Saudi Arabia.

A year later, Saudi Arabia and several Arab allies launched a massive air campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi military gains.

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.