Houthi intransigence stalls UN team in Hudaydah: Source

By Mohamed al-Samei

SANAA (AA) – A UN mission tasked with monitoring a ceasefire in Yemen’s eastern city of Al-Hudaydah has so far failed to make any tangible progress, according to a senior Yemeni military source.

The source, who spoke to Anadolu Agency by phone on condition of anonymity, attributed the lack of progress to the Houthi rebel group’s “refusal” to withdraw from the port city.

“The Houthis insist on handing over the city and its seaports to elements affiliated with them, which violates the agreement we reached in Sweden,” the source said without elaborating.

It was not possible for Anadolu Agency to obtain immediate comment from the Houthi administration in Sanaa regarding the source’s assertions.

Last week, the UN Security Council adopted a U.K.-sponsored resolution approving deployment of a UN team tasked with monitoring a ceasefire in Al-Hudaydah that went into effect in December.

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.

Impoverished Yemen has remained dogged by violence and strife since 2014, when the Houthi rebel group overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The following year, Saudi Arabia and several of its Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains and shoring up its pro-Saudi government.

The campaign has devastated much of Yemen’s basic infrastructure, including health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as “one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times”.