Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani dismissed as a farce on Saturday the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ withdrawal from the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
“What happened today is a flagrant show, a group of (Houthi) militiamen left (the city) and they were replaced by others wearing coast guard police uniforms,” he told Reuters.
The withdrawal was a “show” meant to “disinform the international community”, he added.
The Houthis on Saturday started withdrawing forces from Saleef port in Hodeidah under a UN-sponsored deal that had been stalled for months, a Reuters witness said.
The UN's Redeployment Coordination Committee said earlier in a statement that the Houthis would make an "initial unilateral redeployment" between May 11 and 14 from Saleef and Ras Isa as well as the country's main port of Hodeidah.
The head of the UN operation monitoring the ceasefire, Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, said Friday that the Houthi pullout from the three ports marked the first practical step toward realizing the ceasefire agreed on in December in Sweden.
He added that the Houthis must commit to fully following through on the redeployment.
