Yemen's warring parties agree on initial redeployment: UN

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expects the implementation of the first phase of Hodeidah troop withdrawal "will be carried out immediately" by the Yemeni warring parties, a UN spokesman said on Monday.

"There's always the need to have real impetus to implementation on the ground, and we hope that now that we have the first phase agreed, it will be carried out immediately, and we are expecting that will happen on the ground," Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN chief, told reporters at a regular briefing.

Yemeni government and Houthi representatives have reached an agreement on the first phase of their redeployment of forces under a UN-sponsored deal for the warring armies to leave the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, the United Nations said on Sunday.

Representatives of the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels met in the UN-facilitated talks in Hodeidah on Saturday and Sunday, and reached agreement on Phase 1 of the troop withdrawal, said the press office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

However, the press office didn't give details of exactly what the Iranian-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed government agreed.

The United Nations is trying to implement a truce and troop-withdrawal accord in Hodeidah, the main entry point for most of Yemen's imports, as part of efforts to end a war that has killed tens of thousands and left millions on the brink of starvation.

United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths (C-R) and International Committee of the Red Cross President Peter Maurer (2nd L) attend a new round of talks on prisoner swap between Yemen's warring parties in Amman, Jordan, February 5, 2019. /VCG Photo

Under Phase 1, the Houthis are to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Isa to be met by a retreat of coalition forces from the eastern outskirts of Hodeidah city, where battles raged before a ceasefire went into effect on December 18.

The Hodeidah truce has largely been respected but skirmishes continue between the Houthi movement and their foes in a Saudi-led coalition fighting to restore the internationally recognized government.

The UN statement said the two sides had also agreed "in principle" on Phase 2, entailing the full redeployment of the parties' forces in the whole province of Hodeidah, according to the UN plan.

The next round of talks within the framework of the RCC (Redeployment Coordination Committee) is expected to convene within a week with the aim to finalize an agreement on Phase 2, it added.

The RCC talks were aimed at implementing a deal on troop withdrawal from the city of Hodeidah and ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa as set out in the Stockholm Agreement in December 2018.

(With inputs from Reuters, Xinhua)