Yemen govt accuses Huthis of violating Hodeida truce

Yemen’s government accused rivals yesterday of failing to abide by a truce reached between the warring parties at UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden last month. “The legitimate government remains committed to the Sweden accords,” state-run Saba news agency quoted Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi as saying.

Hadi accused Yemen’s Huthis of failing to respect an agreement on the flashpoint port city of Hodeida, controlled by the insurgents since 2014, Saba said. The news comes as reports surface that the UN is looking to replace the head of a monitoring mission to Hodeida. The United Nations’ Yemen envoy, Martin Griffiths, met with Hadi in Riyadh yesterday, after holding talks with Huthis in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Also at the Riyadh meeting was retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert, who heads a monitoring team tasked with overseeing the Hodeida 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 said. The Huthis, who control Hodeida, have accused Cammaert of not being up to the task and of pursuing “other agendas”.