Warring sides in Yemen’s conflict have agreed to a cease-fire for the key port city of Hudaydah.

The delegations from the Yemeni government and the Shi’ite Huthi rebels reached agreement on December 13 at the end of UN-brokered talks in Sweden aimed at ending nearly four years of civil war.

The Red Sea port city of Hudaydah is the main lifeline for two-thirds of the country, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the cease-fire was crucial to getting aid to millions of Yemenis.

The agreement will see "a mutual redeployment of forces from the port and the city and the establishment of a governorate-wide cease-fire," Guterres said.

"The UN will play a leading role in the port and this will facilitate the humanitarian access and the flow of goods to the civilian population. And it will improve the living conditions for millions of Yemenis," he added.

The agreement could "be a starting point for peace and for ending [the] humanitarian crisis in Yemen," the UN chief also said.

The Yemeni government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia and its military allies, has been battling the Iran-backed Huthi rebels for nearly four years.

Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed over 10,000 people and created what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Based on reporting by the BBC </s> Warring sides in Yemen's conflict have agreed to a cease-fire for the key port city of Hudaydah.aimed at ending nearly four years of civil war.The Red Sea port city of Hudaydah is the main lifeline for two-thirds of the country, andThe Yemeni government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia and its military allies, has been battling the Iran-backed Huthi rebels for nearly four years.Civilians have borne the brunt of the conflict, which has killed over 10,000 people and created what the United Nations has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. </s> Houthi rebels have announced a ceasefire deal with the Yemeni government and withdrawal from the port city of Al-Hudaydah during UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden.

"We agreed on an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all sides in Al-Hudaydah under a UN committee's supervision," Houthi negotiator Jamal Amer said.

He said the supervision of the city’s ports will be given to the UN.

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

Talks between the two warring parties tackle the release of captives, the fight in Al-Hudaydah, Yemen’s central bank, access to humanitarian aid and the Sanaa airport.

As for the Sanaa Airport, Amer said an "initial agreement took place between the two parties on the opening of the airport… with the UN taking technical supervision of all the airports of Yemen."

"However, the other side insists that the airport remains local," he said.

There was no comment from the Yemeni government on the Houthi claim.

Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, and the key port city of Hudaydah.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

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

This article has been adapted from its original source. </s> CAIRO — Yemen’s warring parties have agreed to terms for a cease-fire in the crucial port city of Hudaydah, the United Nations chief said on Thursday, announcing the biggest step toward peace in years for a war that has produced the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels have agreed to withdraw their forces from Hudaydah, the main conduit for humanitarian aid entering Yemen, and to implement a cease-fire in the surrounding province, Secretary General António Guterres told reporters.

He made the announcement in Rimbo, Sweden, at the end of a week of negotiations intended to pave the way for full peace talks. Amid smiles and handshakes, representatives from the two sides also agreed to a prisoner exchange involving as many as 15,000 people, and to allow a humanitarian corridor into the city of Taiz, Yemen’s third-largest city. They agreed to meet again in January.

The terms of the deal announced by Mr. Guterres were vague in places, with talk of a mutual “redeployment” to stop the fighting in Hudaydah, and a “leading role” for the United Nations in the city. Yemen’s foreign minister, Khaled al-Yamani, told reporters that the deal would come into force only if Houthis first vacated the city. Martin Griffiths, the United Nations envoy for Yemen, said he expected that to happen in a matter of days. </s> The announcement of a ceasefire between Yemen’s warring parties in and around the key port of Hudaydah, was hailed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday as a deal which would improve the lives of millions of people.

Speaking on the last day of UN-led talks in Sweden to decide the future of the war-torn country, where its people are in the grip of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, Mr. Guterres told those present that they had “the future of Yemen” in their hands.

“You have reached an agreement on Hudaydah port and city, which will see a mutual re-deployment of forces from the port and the city, and the establishment of a Governorate-wide ceasefire,” he said, noting that the UN would play “a leading role” in the port.

“This will facilitate the humanitarian access and the flow of goods to the civilian population. It will improve the living conditions for millions of Yemenis,” he insisted.

Nearly four years after fighting escalated between the Government of Yemen and Houthi opposition movement, known officially as Ansar Allah, more than 24 million people – three-quarters of the population – need some form of assistance and protection.

Some 20 million are food insecure and 10 million of these people do not know how they will obtain their next meal.

While noting that “pending issues” have yet to be resolved, the UN chief said that representatives from the internationally-recognised Government of Yemen and the opposition had made “real progress” which had yielded “several important results”.

These included a “mutual understanding to ease the situation in Taizz”, Mr Guterres said, in reference to the country’s third largest city.

“We hope this will lead to the opening of humanitarian corridors and the facilitation of demining,” he added.

On the previously-agreed issue of a mass exchange of prisoners, the UN Secretary-General noted that both delegations had drawn up a timeline and provided further details on when it might happen.

This would allow “thousands - I repeat, thousands - of Yemenis to be reunited with their families,” Mr Guterres said, with UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, at his side.

Looking ahead to a new meeting between both parties in the new year, the UN chief insisted that another “very important step for the peace process” had been agreed, namely a willingness to discuss a framework for negotiations.

“You have agreed to meet again to continue to discuss this further at the end of January during the next round of negotiations,” Mr. Guterres said, adding that it was a “critical element” of a future political settlement to end the conflict.

“We have a better understanding of the positions of the parties,” he added, noting their “constructive engagement”, while also crediting the Governments of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Kuwait for their “concrete support” in making the meeting happen.

Welcoming the announcement on the Hudaydah ceasefire, the World Food Programme (WFP) underlined that the Red Sea port was “key” to importing some 70 per cent of Yemen’s humanitarian and 90 per cent of its commercial needs.

“Any progress towards peace is good progress, as long as it helps the Yemeni people who have suffered so much in this conflict,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley, noting that what Yemen needed most was lasting peace.

“Today’s announcement gives us hope that the World Food Programme’s work to feed 12 million severely hungry Yemenis may be made easier in the coming weeks and months.”

Owing to the conflict, in recent weeks imports have decreased by about half at Hudaydah’s docks, WFP spokesperson Herve Verhoosel said.

“In November, our target in Hodeidah Governorate was to reach 800 000 people in need of food assistance. This ceasefire will of course help us in our daily activities as the region is one of WFPs priorities.” </s> Alwaght- The Yemeni conflict developments continue as on the one hand the United Nations envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths has stepped up efforts to revive and implement the Stockholm peace deal on Hudaydah port and on the other hand Ansarullah and army forces of Yemen are engaged in newly escalated clashes with the forces and mercenaries loyal to the resigned President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi as well as the Saudi-Emirati coalition that has been involved in a military campaign against the Arab country since March 2015.

According to a UN announcement on Friday, Ansarullah movement, the key force fighting the Arab alliance and in charge of the revolutionary administration in the capital Sana’a and other major provinces, agreed to unilaterally remove its forces from the main ports of the country. The UN statement added that the voluntary withdrawal will be from the three ports of Hudaydah, Salif, and Ras Isa.

The UN released a statement on the move, welcoming it and saying that it will be first serious step towards cessation of fire in the country. It emphasized the need for the warring sides to take clarifying measures within the mechanism of the Stockholm agreement.

Ansarullah decision at the time being is quite tactical and smart because on the one side it will expose to the world the frequent violations of the opposite side in the process of the agreement implementation and on the other side accentuate its constructive role in the peace process as a reliable actor keeping its commitments. The movement seriously needs to disclose the Saudi-led coalition’s treacheries in the deal implementation. After the failure of the retreat and ceasefire deal, reached in mid-April between the two sides’ negotiators, Riyadh and its Western allies labeled the Yemeni resistant movement as the factor foiling the pro-peace efforts.

Hudaydah and Saif ports are located in the north of the southern province of Hudaydah and are the only lifelines taking in food and medical aids from the outside world amid a choking land, sea, and air siege imposed by Saudi Arabia and the UAE since 2015. Ras Isa sea terminal is mainly used to import fuel to the highly-impoverished nation. The terminal hosts an oil storage with capacity of 5 million oil barrels and is connected to an oil refinery.

With regard to the significance of the three ports as the major lifelines to the heavily-suffocated Yemeni economy, the coalition states along with their Western backers have embarked on a strategy of economic pressure and blockade to force Ansarullah to abandon its resistance. If the Stockholm deal is implemented, the aggressors will find their only hope of winning a costly war of attrition totally shattering. Ansarullah seems to pave the way for this. With declaring a unilateral withdrawal from the key ports, it will give itself some room to put strains on the invaders using the UN, Security Council, and the global public condemnation.

Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, the head of Yemen’s Supreme Revolutionary Council, said that “the Yemeni people, their leaders, the army, and the popular committees proved their commitment to peace by the unilateral withdrawal from the ports.” He urged the world community to take measures against the parties that set up obstacles ahead of the Stockholm peace accord’s implementation.

The international pressures have been mounting over the past few months on the Arab alliance members and their Western arms providers to end the “inhumane” blockade on the Yemeni civilians that over the past five years caused a major humanitarian crisis marked by famine, impoverishment, and diseases spread. The World Peace Foundation, affiliated with the University of Tufts, suggested that the humanitarian crisis was instigated by the bombing campaign of the coalition and the economic crisis in the already-suffering nation.

But from another side, the Ansarullah-led popular forces and the army have been advancing in other southern fronts like in Dhale province along with the pullout from the three ports, proving that contrary to the Western-Arab media, Ansarullah’s power is far from declining and the withdrawal is just a tactical step and is not motivated by pressure and force.

While on Friday the Hadi loyalists in a statement announced launching an operation to cleanse Dhale, Maris, and Al-Sanah, the recent strong response to the opponents by Ansarullah and its allies remind of the fact that the movement is pro-peace and committed to its promises. While it holds the power to deal blows to the aggression forces, the movement seeks to avoid further war and bloodshed in the country. </s> Houthi Rebels In Yemen Say They Have Begun Withdrawing From 3 Strategic Ports

Houthi rebels in Yemen say they have begun a withdrawal from three key strategic ports that serve as a vital lifeline for food and humanitarian aid into the war-torn country.

If seen through, the withdrawal from the Red Sea port of Hudaydah, a key gateway for humanitarian aid into Yemen, as well as the ports of Ras Isa and Salif, would represent the first practical step by forces on the ground to implement an internationally-backed ceasefire agreed to in December.

The pullout has yet to be confirmed by the United Nations, but according to Reuters, rebel forces began withdrawing from Hudaydah port on Saturday. Rebels also said they had begun leaving Ras Isa, a port used for oil, and Salif, used for grain, according to The New York Times.

Under a December agreement brokered by the U.N., Yemen's Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels agreed to pull out from the ports to allow desperately needed aid into the country. The U.N. says the conflict in Yemen has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis. The country is on the brink of famine, and an estimated 80 percent of Yemenis, or 24 million people, are in need of aid, according to the U.N.

The closure of the port in Hudaydah has had a particularly severe impact on the country. In December, reporter Jane Ferguson told NPR, "This city port is the most important in the entire country. This is where at least 80 percent of the foodstuffs come in to the north of Yemen."

The U.N. has repeatedly appealed for access to a vast store of grain at Hudaydah port, which is enough food to feed 3.7 million people for a month. Aid workers were unable to reach the storage of grain for five months, and have warned that it is at risk of rotting.

The withdrawal of Houthi forces is expected to take four days. But according to The New York Times, "The United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, described the process as a 'fragile vessel.' "

Observers fear that if the withdrawal fails, the violence in Yemen could grow even more deadly. More than 10,000 people have been reported killed in Yemen over the last five months, bringing the war's death toll to over 70,000 since 2016, according to data collated by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project.

Britain's Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, tweeted there were "encouraging signs" in Hudaydah, with reports that Houthis were "beginning to withdraw (under UN supervision) from the Yemeni ports of Hodeidah, Saleff and Ras Issa."

"Vital this happens in full," Hunt said. </s> Yemen’s warring parties have agreed to an immediate ceasefire in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, the UN secretary general has said, in a potential breakthrough at the end of a week of peace talks in Sweden.

Antonio Guterres said the agreement included the future deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces and the establishment of humanitarian corridors. Troops from both sides will withdraw from the entire Hodeidah area within a maximum of 21 days in a process overseen by a UN-chaired committee.

A political framework for Yemen will be discussed in a next round of meetings, scheduled for late January.

If implemented on the ground, the deal would represent a breakthrough because the port is the gateway for the bulk of humanitarian aid coming into the country, and has been the subject of intense fighting. Ceasefires have also been agreed at two other ports, Salif and Ras Issa.

Guterres said the UN would play a key role when the troops withdrew. “It is obvious the UN will play an important role in the port, probably a monitoring role and the management of that port,” he said. This would help “facilitate the humanitarian flow of goods to the civilian population and it will improve the living conditions for millions of Yemenis”.

The UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said troops would withdraw from the port within days, and from the wider city in a second phase. He said the ceasefire was designed to open up the east-west road that connects Hodeidah to the capital, Sana’a “so that the humanitarian pipeline, which is crucial to the people of Yemen, can start delivering aid”.

Agreements have also been reached on a mass prisoner swap and the easing of the siege of the south-western city of Taiz.

Guterres said the UN security council would discuss the terms of a draft resolution designed to monitor and verify the troop withdrawal agreements on Friday. Western powers will offer to provide technology to monitor the redeployments, with an agreement that policing in Hodeidah becomes the responsibility of “local security forces in accordance with Yemini law”.

He said the outcome of the talks in the Swedish town of Rimbo would mean “concrete results in the daily lives of Yemenis”.

The UN-backed Yemeni government lost control of Hodeidah and Sana’a to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in 2015. Despite heavy military support from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirate, the government, which is based in Aden, has been unable to take back either city.

Western backing for the Saudi-led war has frayed in the face of mass casualties, starvation and, more recently, allegations that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was instrumental in organising the killing of the Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.

The agreements, sealed with a handshake between the two sets of negotiators but not any signatures, include the shoring up of the country’s central bank, which should eventually enable the payment of salaries to 1.2 million public sector workers.

The plan raises questions about the capacity of the UN to administer Hodeidah port, including ensuring revenue from it is transferred to Yemen’s central bank. If it fails, the risk remains that fighting for control of the port will continue. Nearly 27% of the Houthi movement’s income comes from the port.

The UK foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, who flew to Sweden to attend the final day of the talks, said: “It is now vital that the parties act in good faith and take urgent steps to implement these agreements.”

Griffiths had never expected to reach an overall political settlement in this round of talks, the first since 2016, but he said the agreements covered the most sensitive, dangerous and difficult part of Yemen.

He overcame obstacles to the talks ever starting, including the size of the Houthi delegations, its means of transport to Sweden and a demand that 50 of its most seriously injured fighters be flown to Oman for medical treatment.

Despite the antagonism and brutality of the war, many of the talks in Sweden were conducted face to face. Pictures from inside the conference showed the two teams of negotiators smiling and shaking hands.

Backing in the US Senate for the for the Saudi war in Yemen is declining rapidly, placing pressure on the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, to urge Washington’s allies to negotiate an end to the conflict.

With both sides suspicious that the other will not honour the agreements struck, Griffiths has tried to draw up detailed implementation plans in an attempt to prevent backsliding.

In Hodeidah, Salem Jaffer Baobaid, an aid worker with Islamic Relief, said: “It is much quieter today. We are not sure what is going to happen, but any relief is welcome.”

Baseem al-Janani, a local resident, said: “We have heard about the ceasefire, but we are very cautious. Today the Houthis dug new trenches, closed off and emptied some neighbourhoods. They do not seem like they are going to stop fighting.” </s> HODEIDA, Yemen: Yemeni rebels have begun to withdraw from the port of Hodeida, the country´s key aid lifeline, under an agreement reached in Sweden earlier this month, a UN official said Saturday.

The official, who requested anonymity, said the Huthi rebels began to pull back from the Red Sea port at midnight (2100 GMT Friday).

The Huthis began "the first phase of redeployment from the Hodeida port", a rebel official told the Huthi-run Saba news agency. The rebels held a ceremony to mark the occasion, an AFP correspondent reported.

The rebel withdrawal from the port, which is the point of entry for food aid to some 14 million Yemenis UN agencies say are on the brink of famine, is a key part of a ceasefire that went into effect on December 18.

Pro-government forces are also supposed to pull back from parts of the city they recaptured in an offensive they launched with the backing of a Saudi-led coalition on June 13.

The UN Security Council last week unanimously approved a resolution authorising the deployment of observers to oversee the truce.

Retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert is heading a joint truce monitoring committee, which includes both government and rebel representatives, and chaired its first meeting this week.

The UN-led panel addressed "the first phase of the implementation of the Stockholm agreement... based on ceasefire, confidence building measures to deliver humanitarian assistance and redeployment", a UN statement said.

It added that the panel would convene again on January 1 to discuss "detailed plans for full redeployment".

The truce has remained shaky, with the two sides accusing each other of violations.

A resident reached by telephone on Saturday told AFP pro-government and rebel forces had exchanged fire briefly overnight.

The resident added that coalition jets were heard overhead on Saturday morning.

The war between the Shiite Huthi rebels and troops loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi escalated in March 2015, when he fled into Saudi exile and the Saudi-led

coalition intervened. Since then, the war has killed some 10,000 people, according to the World Health Organization, although human rights groups say the real death toll could be five times as high.
A UN-brokered ceasefire is agreed upon between the two warring factions in Al Hudaydah, Yemen. Troops from both sides will withdraw from the port city within three weeks to allow humanitarian aid coming into the country, which has been plagued by war and famine.