UN: Houthis Failing to Honor Yemen AgreementsSunday, 30...

UN: Houthis Failing to Honor Yemen AgreementsSunday, 30 December, 2018 - 07:00Pro-government forces in Yemen. (AFP)Aden – Ali Rabih and Asharq Al-AwsatThe United Nations criticized on Sunday the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen for blocking aid from Yemen’s coastal province of Hodediah to the capital Sanaa.A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the militias failed to honor an agreement to open a "humanitarian" corridor between Hodeidah and, Sanaa, to deliver humanitarian assistance.In addition, the UN cast doubt on the claims by the Houthis that they have withdrawn from Hodeidah port, saying such steps can only be credible if all other parties can verify them.The Houthis said Saturday they handed over control of the port to the coast guard as part of confidence-building measures agreed this month in peace talks in Sweden. The legitimate government denied this, saying it was a ploy by the militias to maintain control of the port.In addition, the government accused Saturday the Houthis of reneging on the agreements reached during the Sweden consultations.A source from the government said that the Houthis had turned against the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), chaired by retired Dutch General, Patrick Cammaert, refuting claims that the militias had started to withdraw from Hodeidah city and its port.It said that the Houthis were trying to evade the implementation of the Sweden deal through deceiving officials about handing over control of Hodeidah city and its port. It explained that the militias were misleading officials about their withdrawal by pulling out their forces and later returning them under the guise of policemen or security forces members.The Houthis had claimed Saturday that they had indeed started pulling out from the port.The source demanded that the withdrawal announcement be made through official channels.The government has relayed this demand to Cammaert, it revealed.The Houthis are making their own interpretation of the Sweden deal whereby they are refusing to hand over control of Hodeidah to local legitimate forces and security agencies that were present there before their 2014 coup.Sources close to the militias revealed that the agreement to pull out from Hodeidah had sparked disputes among the Houthis.The militant branch led by Abdulkarim and Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, which includes leading member Abou Ali al-Hakem, has rejected the withdrawal and deemed any cooperation with the Sweden deal as a form of treason.Head of the Houthis’ so-called ruling council Mahdi Mshat and militia spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam have, however, agreed to cede control of Hodeidah, while ensuring that the militia maintained its financial interests.The first phase of putting the Sweden ceasefire deal into action is based on three priority areas: maintaining the ceasefire, confidence-building measures to deliver humanitarian assistance, and redeployment of fighters, said the UN.The parties are set to present detailed plans for full redeployment to Cammaert in the next committee meeting in Hodeidah on Tuesday.