During its second meeting under the chairmanship of retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert, the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) reached Thursday an agreement over the “transfer of humanitarian aid” to the province of Hodeidah, informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
The meeting of the UN committee tasked with monitoring the ceasefire in Hodeidah was attended by two representatives from the legitimate government and Houthis.
However, there were signs Thursday that Houthis were shying away from the implementation of a deal reached with the Yemeni government in the Swedish capital to swap prisoners and detainees.
The RCC is in the Yemeni port city to implement the first phase of the ceasefire deal that calls on Houthis to withdraw from the Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Issa ports after January 3, 2019.
The UN set 30 days to implement the Stockholm Agreement, which was announced early this month following several days of negotiations, the first peace talks between the two sides since 2016.
As Houthis expressed tougher stances in facilitating the mission of the Dutch General, the Arab Coalition announced that the Iran-backed militias violated the UN-brokered ceasefire in Hodeidah 29 times in the last 24 hours, despite the presence of the UN team in the city.
In a statement issued Thursday, the Coalition said Houthis were using RPGs, heat-seeker missiles and improvised explosive devices to bomb areas populated by civilians, resulting in injuries.
Meanwhile, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi said the deal on the ceasefire and the peaceful handover of Hodeidah by the Houthi rebels puts the UN and the international community to the test.
In a rare meeting held in Riyadh with Yemeni lawmakers in the presence of his deputy and prime minister, Hadi said: "We believe the UN and the international community are in a real test as to whether they will ensure the proper implementation of the Hodeidah Agreement in such a way that brings peace and put ports back under state control to operate them for the people's benefit.”
The President added that the UN and the international community, as sponsors of the Hodeidah agreement, "face a real test" as to whether they will be able to get the rebels to implement the deal properly" as agreed.
