Yemen's Houthi says unilateral withdrawal from Hodeidah to start

Source: Xinhua| 2019-05-11 15:23:05|Editor: Xiaoxia
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SANAA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The head of Yemeni Houthi rebels' supreme revolutionary committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said his forces' withdrawal from Hodeidah main ports will begin "Saturday at 10 a.m. local time (0700 GMT)."

"The unilateral withdrawal came as a result of refusal by the Saudi-led coalition and its allies (internationally-recognized Yemeni government) to implement the Stockholm Agreement," al-Houthi said in Twitter.

A UN statement said late on Friday that the Houthi group has agreed to redeploy from the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa within four days beginning Saturday.

The Stockholm Agreement, the first step toward a comprehensive political solution, was reached in December 2018 and focused on the port city of Hodeidah, the lifeline for Yemen's most commercial imports and humanitarian aid.

Both Yemeni parties have largely obeyed the cease-fire deal, but failed to withdraw forces from the city.

Hodeidah has been the focus of clashes since 2017.

The government forces, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, have advanced to the southern outskirts of the port city, but the forces have halted a major offensive to recapture Hodeidah to pave the way for peace efforts.

The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen's war in March 2015 to support internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including Hodeidah and the capital Sanaa.

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