Whole Truth Behind Choked Stockholm’s, UN-Brokered, Agreement about Hodeidah

YemenExtra

M.A.

The Yemeni Army and Popular Committees have made a lot of concessions and started implementing the first phase of the redeployment in Hodeidah as agreed in the UN-brokered ceasefire agreement signed between the Yemeni  National Delegation and Riadh-backed Delegation in December. However, the US-Saudi aggression and its mercenaries hindered, delayed, did not abide by the implementation of the agreement and continued their violations.

The document of the agreed ceasefire in Hodeidah includes three provisions: a ceasefire along the Hodeidah front and the redeployment of armed forces out of the city and its port; an agreement on prisoner exchange; and a statement of understanding on the southern Yemeni city of Taiz.

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, the  head of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee, has accused in a statement the countries of aggression of not dealing seriously with the efforts of the international envoy or international efforts, pointing out that the given time for the aggression, by Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) General Michael Lollesgaard,  to begin the redeployment has ended with no result. He added that the obstruction of the aggression coalition to implement the first phase deprived the envoy to talk about progress in his briefing and that he has lost confidence.

For his part, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres acknowledged that significant challenges remained in implementing a withdrawal from the key Red Sea port of Hodeidah, emphasizing that progress has been slow in implementing a troop withdrawal.

Mohammed Al-Houthi confirmed that the Army and Committees are ready to implement the UN-brokered agreement unilaterally in order to alleviate the suffering of Yemenis. “The United Nations has been notified of the unilateral redeployment and to date, we have not received the start-up signal. The aggression and its allies are using starvation as a weapon and rejecting peace,” he said in a tweet. He also reiterated Ansarullah commitment to the UN-brokered Stockholm truce: “We are ready to implement the stages of the Stockholm Agreement. We have taken unilaterally the first step in the port and the United Nations knows that.”

Yet, the US-Saudi aggression is evading the implementation of multiple UN-brokered deals, including a prisoners’ exchange deal and a deal to address the economy, as well as the Taiz calm plan. It tries to introducing new conditions to the already-agreed “Phase 1” arrangement.

MintPress News cited a high-ranking Coalition official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of his safety, saying that Coalition leaders have not yet given permission for military commanders on the ground to start implementing the agreement. According to the Program of Meetings of the Coordination Committee, four requests have been submitted by Saudi officials in Riyadh to delay the deal’s implementation.

The Head of the National Delegation, Mohammed Abdul-Salam has met with British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt in a rare meeting in Oman’s capital city of Muscat to discuss ongoing peace negotiations related to the port city of Hodeidah. Abdul-Salam reiterated Yemen’s commitment to Stockholm’s agreement. He, however, expressed concern about what he described as the US-Saudi aggression’s attempts at introducing new conditions to the already-agreed “Phase 1” arrangement. Abdul-Salam rejected any alteration of the previously agreed deal.

For his part, Deputy Foreign Minister, Hussein Al-Ezzi, said that the RCC can not overcome the stumbling agreement, in the first phase of the redeployment in Hodeidah and its ports, as the other party sets new requirements outside the signed agreement and wants to impose. Al-Ezzi stressed the readiness of the Salvation Government and the Supreme Political Council to implement the “Phase 1” arrangement completely and unilaterally.

He pointed out that although the United Nations had been informed of this position, the National forces has not received any request to date. “The United Nations did not want to show the obstructing party, and adopted the mechanism of  reconciling points of view” he said.

The spokesman of the Armed Forces, Brigadier Yahya Sare’e, confirmed, on Thursday, that the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees started to implement the “Phase 1” arrangement of the redeployment in Hodeidah. Instead, the US-Saudi aggression intends not to implement the UN-brokered agreement. the aggression’s fighters have built new fortifications and are conducting fresh drills at a nearby Air Defense Camp, at the city’s Western Airport, in Kilo-16 district, and in a multitude of schools and urban buildings dotting Hodeida.

Furthermore, a steady flow of aggression military reinforcements have been rolling into the city and the ongoing buzz of aggression drones over the skies of the province. On Tuesday, an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to UAE was intercepted while it was on a reconnaissance mission over the Kilo-16 district. A salvo of mortar shells, Katyusha rockets, and the occasional airstrike have been lobbed on residential areas in Hodeidah, killing and injuring dozens of civilians. On Friday a child was killed in Al-Rameemeh district in southern Hodeidah after his home was hit with a barrage of mortar shells.

Sare’e said on Monday that the US-Saudi aggression committed 966 violations in the past four days, targeting residential areas, farms, houses, private and public properties and Yemeni Army’s sites, with 532 artillery shells, 55 missiles, 313 various medium and heavy weapons, 44 military reinforcements. The US-Saudi aggression launched 64 raids, targeting residential neighborhoods and civilians’ properties in Sa’ada, Hajja, Sana’a and Taiz. Yemeni Army and Popular Committees foiled 14 infiltration attempt of the US-Saudi mercenaries toward Yemeni Army’s sites in several frontlines, killing and injuring a number of them and destroying their machinery. In response to the escalation of the US-Saudi mercenaries, the spokesman confirmed that the Army and Popular Committees carried out different offensives targeted mercenaries sites in different frontlines, killing and injuring dozens of the Saudi-mercenaries.

Regarding the Red Sea Mills,  the Yemeni Army and Popular Committees opened Hodeida’s 50th Street in order to allow a UN technical team to reach the Red Sea Mills, a food-storage facility that holds enough World Food Program grain to feed 3.7 million people for up to one month.

Erlier, Mark Lowcock has accused the Army and Popular Committees of blocking the work of the aid groups.  Lowcock said in a press statement that forces loyal to Ansarullah has refused, until today, to allow the United Nations to cross the front lines to areas controlled, by what he called the “government,” to reach the mills.

Mohammed Al-Houthi responded to Lowcock comments saying, “the humanitarian officer Lowcock is receiving misleading information about the alleged obstruction by Army and Popular Committees.” He wondered “If what Lowcock claimed is true, why wheat loads are not distributed in the areas under the occupation control.” The fact that no aid is being used by any of the areas in need of it, including areas under what Lowcok call “government,” than any claims of obstruction by the Ansarullah are not believable.

In turn, the envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen and the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, hastened to remedy the matter in a joint statement and retreated from this accusation, which is not supported by facts. “We acknowledge the confirmation from Ansarullah of their commitment to implement the Hodeida Agreement. We appreciate their earlier efforts to re-open the road leading to the mills which have been carried out under difficult and dangerous circumstances,” the statement said.

Almasirah English