An uneasy calm returned on Thursday to the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on the third day of the UN-backed ceasefire agreed in Stockholm.
An official in the Coalition for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen told Agence France Presse that the "level of intensity" of Houthi militia attacks had decreased, which was "a positive sign but too early to draw concrete conclusions".
UN observers are due in Yemen to head up monitoring teams tasked with overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire.
The chair of a committee formed by the UN, Retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert, is expected to arrive in Hodeidah within two days, a western diplomat said.
A UN official also told Asharq Al-Awsat that Cammaert will only be accompanied by eight members of an initial advance team, and that other observers will later follow them to the Yemeni city.
The Arab Coalition source reiterated the alliance's commitment to UN peace efforts, saying: "We will extend our full support to Cammaert... and we hope to see positive progress".
The UN Security Council scheduled a vote Friday on a UK-drafted resolution. Deliberations that took place in New York on the draft resolution included Iran’s role in backing Houthis and warnings against its arms transfers to the insurgents, informed sources said.
The British foreign minister said Wednesday that the resolution would be adopted within 48 hours.
Michael Aron, the UK Ambassador to Yemen, told Asharq Al-Awsat that despite “minor” violations, the two sides of the conflict have been committed to the ceasefire agreement.
“I think the situation in Hodeidah is good. There were small clashes,” he said.
The diplomat expected observers to reach the port city under the leadership of Cammaert and hoped for tangible progress on the draft resolution on Yemen.
Aron said he discussed with Yemeni Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi about the draft, which is important in implementing the ceasefire.
Cammaert, convened the first meeting of the Redeployment Coordination Committee by videoconference from New York on Wednesday "to discuss the general outlines of its work, including agreement of a code of conduct", UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
UN chief Antonio Guterres was "breathing down the neck" of officials to make sure the UN observers are deployed as soon as possible, Dujarric said.
He added that Cammaert will head on Thursday to Jordan, where the regional office of UN envoy Martin Griffiths is based, from where he will travel on to Sanaa and Hodeidah.
A UN official told AFP that he was expected in Amman on Friday.
"His departure to Yemen depends on logistics arrangements and flight availability," the official, who requested anonymity, said.
Brigadier General Ahmed al-Kokbani, a Yemeni government representative on the committee, told AFP that the video conference with Cammaert covered the bases of the committee's mission.
"Cammaert asked members of the team to work diligently in calming the situation and to reject any violations," he said.
