(MENAFN- Asia Times) The United Nations will present a new plan for the withdrawal of forces from Yemen's flashpoint city of Hodeida to the government and Huthi insurgents, an envoy said Tuesday.
The redeployment of forces was agreed in December under a ceasefire agreement reached in Sweden that offered the best hope in years of moving toward an end to the war that has pushed the Arab republic to the brink of famine.
"Following constructive discussions with both parties, there is significant progress towards an agreement to implement phase one of the redeployments of the Hodeida agreement," said a statement from Martin Griffiths, the UN envoy for Yemen.
"Operational details will be presented to the parties in the Redeployment Coordination Committee [RCC] for endorsement shortly," he added.
The RCC, chaired by Danish General Michael Lollesgaard, was established under the Stockholm agreement to bring the government and the Huthis to the table to work out the details of the ceasefire agreement.
The UN envoy's statement did not give a date for the beginning of the withdrawal, which would mark the first concrete step towards de-escalation in Hodeida.
Griffiths said he "looks forward to the swift endorsement of the plan" and expressed hope that an agreement would pave the way to a broader political settlement to end the war.
The United Nations announced a deal on the two-stage pullback from Hodeida city and its ports on February 17, but the redeployment failed to materialize on the ground and the peace effort appeared to run out of steam.
– with reporting by Agence France-Presse
MENAFN2003201901590000ID1098278874
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.