FILE PHOTO: A look at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen May 10, 2017. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad/File Photo
On December 21, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a UK-sponsored resolution that authorizes the deployment of an advance team to monitor the ceasefire agreement on the Yemeni province of al-Hudaydah, which was reached during the peace talks in Sweden earlier this month.
According to Reuters, a U.N. spokesman said that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will authorize the deployment of an advance monitoring team in Yemen for an initial 30 days. The team will be led by retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert, who is expected to arrive in Yemen within 24 hours.
Deputy Permanent Representative of Saudi Arabia delegation to the U.N., Khalid Manzlawi, welcomed the new resolution and said that it reflects the Kingdom’s decisions.
“The resolution affirms the efforts of Saudi diplomacy and its direct impact on the decisions of the international community,” Manzlawi said in an official statement released by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Mohamad Abd al-Salam, Head of the Houthis delegation to the peace talks, described the resolution as a “positive step.” However, he said that there are many notes on some of the terms in the resolution.
“It’s an important step towards ending the aggression and lifting the siege in preparation for a comprehensive political solution,” the al-Masirah TV quoted Abd al-Salam as saying.
The U.N. advance monitoring mission will likely put an end to the repeated violations of the ceasefire agreement and encourage both sides to expand the ceasefire to include other hot areas, like the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
