Yemen govt accuses rebels of violating Hodeida truce

AFP  |  Riyadh 

Yemen's embattled government accused rival rebels on Thursday of failing to abide by a truce reached between the warring parties at UN-sponsored peace talks in last month.

Hadi accused Yemen's Huthi rebels of failing to respect an agreement on the flashpoint port city of Hodeida, controlled by the insurgents since 2014, said.

The comes as reports surface that the UN is looking to replace the of a monitoring mission to Hodeida, a lifeline to millions of Yemenis dependent on its imports to survive.

The United Nations' envoy, Martin Griffiths, met with Hadi in on Thursday, after holding talks with rebels in the Yemeni capital

Also at the meeting was retired Dutch Patrick Cammaert, who heads a monitoring team tasked with overseeing the truce.

Diplomatic sources on Wednesday said the UN was looking to replace Cammaert.

"In due time, he will leave. He is in this position until a successor is found," one of the sources told AFP.

The Huthis, who control Hodeida, have accused Cammaert of not being up to the task and of pursuing "other agendas".

Cammaert and members of the UN monitoring team came under fire in last week but were unharmed.

The did not identify who was behind the shooting.

was for months the main front line in the war after government forces supported by and its allies launched an offensive to capture it in June.

But a precarious calm has largely held in the city since the agreement came into force on December 18.

The Hodeida agreement stipulates a full ceasefire, followed by the withdrawal and redeployment of rival forces from the city -- two clauses that have yet to be fulfilled.

The conflict has killed some 10,000 people since a Saudi-led coalition intervened in support of the beleaguered government in March 2015, according to the

Human rights groups say the real death toll could be five times as high.

The war has pushed 14 million Yemenis to the brink of famine in what the describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Thu, January 24 2019. 20:05 IST