MOSCOW/CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2020) UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths on Thursday expressed grave concern over the recent military escalation in the Yemeni western province of Al Hudaydah, which violated the 2018 Stockholm peace treaty.
Tensions escalated last week between forces loyal to the legitimate government and the Shia rebel Houthi movement in the city of Al Hudaydah, as well as in the province's districts of Ad Durayhimi, At Tuhayta and Hays, with the rival parties accusing each other of attacking military positions. According to media reports, dozens of people were killed and injured on both sides, including some civilians.
"This military escalation not only constitutes a violation of the Hudaydah [Stockholm] ceasefire agreement but it runs against the spirit of the ongoing UN-facilitated negotiations that aim to achieve a nationwide ceasefire, humanitarian and economic measures and the resumption of the political process," Griffiths said in a statement.
The UN envoy has called on all parties to the conflict to immediately stop hostilities and adhere to the Stockholm peace accord, the statement read.
The rebel movement, in turn, has welcomed Griffiths' call to halt military activities and also affirmed its intent to cooperate with the UN mission to implement the Al Hudaydah agreement.
For over five years, Yemen has been engulfed in an armed confrontation between the government forces, led by President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, and Houthi rebels.
In December 2018, the belligerents signed a UN-sponsored peace accord in Sweden to ease tensions in the war-torn nation. Under� the accord, the sides agreed to a ceasefire in Yemen's port of Al Hudaydah, the exchange of around 15,000 individuals and the establishment of humanitarian corridors in the area.
