Yemen’s warring parties agree to start troop withdrawal

Riyadh: Yemen's warring parties have agreed to start withdrawing forces from three ports in Hodeidah under a UN-sponsored deal, the United Nations said, following weeks of diplomacy to salvage a pact that stalled over control of the Red Sea city.

A soldier allied to Yemen’s internationally recognized government stands guard at the port of Aden.Credit:AP

Yemen's Houtis, who are aligned with Iran, and the country's government, aligned with Saudi Arabia, had done a deal in December to withdraw troops by January 7, but disagreement on details  delayed opening humanitarian corridors needed to reach 10 million people on the brink of starvation.  Yemen is the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula.

The December truce aimed at averting a full-scale assault on the port and paving the way for negotiations to end the four-year war.

A Saudi-led airstrike hits a site believed to be a large weapons depots on the outskirts of Yemen’s capital Sanaa in 2016. Credit:AP

"The UN is still discussing how to reduce the gap between the two sides on how to choose the forces that will control the city," a source said.

The parties could decide within 10 days on where they would re-position forces, said the other source.

The conflict, which has killed tens of thousands, is widely seen in the region as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The Houthis deny receiving help from Tehran and say their revolution is against corruption.

Reuters

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