Pompeo Says 'Very Worried' About Warring Parties in Yemen Upholding Stockholm Agreement

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th April, 2019) US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during congressional testimony said he is very concerned about the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels but hopes the truce can still be realized.

"I am very worried about the Stockholm agreement. I spoke with the UN envoy, it has been three days ago now. There is still hope," Pompeo said on Tuesday. "It is not hopeless to think that it will still be implemented."

Pompeo said the members of the Houthi movement had disagreed on certain parts related to withdrawing from Yemen's port of Al Hudaydah.

Last December, the warring parties attended long-awaited UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden. As a result of the meeting, the rebels and the government agreed to a ceasefire in the Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah, an exchange of prisoners and the establishment of humanitarian corridors.

The civil conflict in Yemen between the internationally recognized government, led by President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi, and Houthi rebels, who have occupied vast lands in the country's northwest, began in 2015. The Saudi-led coalition is helping out the government forces with airstrikes, which have inflicted numerous civilian casualties.