Yemeni government team moved Wednesday morning from a camp in Durahmi, south Hodeidah, to a demarcation point near the May 22 Hospital, east of Hodeidah.
It took almost an hour for the Dutch General Patrick Cammaert, chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, to accompany them in UN armored vehicles, then head south to the center of the city, to Union Hotel.
General Cammaert and the team were received by a Houthi delegation, after which a short meeting was held, according to a source familiar with the matter.
They all then moved to Taj Awsan Hotel, and after the lunch break, the first meeting was held during which Cammaert explained the team's tasks.
Thursday’s meeting is expected to be followed with the responses of representatives of the government and the Houthis on an executive mechanism concerning the committee’s tasks.
Yemeni government sources expected that the meeting, in addition to future meetings, will result in consensus on a procedural mechanism for the implementation of Stockholm agreement, and Security Council Resolution 2451, until Houthis leave the city.
A government source told Asharq Al-Awsat that initially, the Houthi group sought to hinder the meeting, before agreeing to clear the road from mines after which the government representatives entered Hodeidah on UN armored vehicles.
Hodeidah governor al-Hassan Taher told Asharq Al-Awsat that the committee has the task of implementing the provisions of the Swedish agreement, and government’s delegation will not negotiate.
He added that the team went to implement the UN resolutions and agreements, noting that withdrawal from the ports according to the convention will be in less than 4 days.
According to sources, the meeting lasted for 3 hours, amid optimism to reach understanding on the establishment of a clear mechanism to begin implementation of the agreement, and end ceasefire violations, especially by the Houthis.
While some observers fear Houthis may undermine Stockholm agreement by not implementing it, Houthi officials had stated during their Monday meeting with the UN observer team that their withdrawal from Hodeidah port was out of the question. They noted that the task of the Dutch general is limited to monitoring the cease-fire and re-coordinating the withdrawal of government forces.
Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani criticized Houthi militia chief for attending a previous meeting with the head of the UN monitoring team, wearing security uniform, in an attempt to appear as a local security officer, whereas in reality, he is Abu Ali al-Kahlani, personal guard of Houthi leader.
Iryani claimed that Kahlani is wanted by the Coalition to support the legitimacy and is one of 140 Houthi elements who arrived from Saada caves and were shortly granted military and security ranks.
The Yemeni government says that Sweden's agreement with the Houthi group indicated that management of Hodeidah and its port be handed to local administration, under the supervision of the United Nations. The elements in question here are the ones who were present before the Houthi coup in 2014.
Houthis are trying to impose their administrative and security presence as the local authority, according to activists.
Local officials noted that Houthi commander, Mohamed Ayash Qahim, appointed by the group as acting governor of Hodeidah, has for some time been trying to force the elected local council members to choose him as secretary-general of the local council. He failed after most of the members refused to succumb to his demands.
The government has rehabilitated about 5,000 security men and policemen from Hodeidah, in preparation for taking over the security and protection of institutions in the city and its ports, after the Houthi militias withdraw from it.
While the head of the UN monitoring team was optimistic about the success of his mission, several observers believe that the issue is far more complex, especially in light of Houthi's attempts to give the Stockholm Convention different interpretations meeting their insistence on remaining in the city and ports.
Under the agreement, troops will be redeployed from both sides within 14 days of the cease-fire, completing the implementation of the second phase of the agreement and withdrawing from the city within three weeks of the cease-fire.
While UN Security Council Resolution 2451 sets out the UN team's mandate to oversee the implementation of the Swedish agreement on Hodeidah, the General Cammaert and the UN envoy are expected to report weekly to the Security Council on developments in the situation.
