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A10 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 19 december 2018

Truce brings hope for Yemen, but peace could prove elusive

By AHMED AL-HAJ seized and held much of
SAMY MAGDY northern Yemen, includ-
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — A ing the capital, Sanaa, at
cease-fire on Tuesday halt- great cost, have consis-
ed months of heavy fight- tently rejected the govern-
ing in Yemen's port city of ment's demands that they
Hodeida, raising hopes that withdraw and give up their
the latest U.N.-led peace heavy weapons.
efforts can end the civil war Saudi Arabia and the Unit-
and alleviate the world's ed Arab Emirates, mean-
worst humanitarian crisis. while, view the rebels as an
But the truce in the Red increasingly dangerous Ira-
Sea city remains fragile, nian proxy. The rebels have
and it's unclear if the Saudi- fired ballistic missiles deep
backed government and into Saudi Arabia and have
the Iran-aligned Houthi attacked vessels in the
rebels can reach a wider Red Sea. The conflict has
peace agreement despite caused a humanitarian ca-
mounting international tastrophe. Emaciated chil-
pressure to end the war. dren are being brought to
Yemeni officials said the overwhelmed clinics, and
fighting in Hodeida sub- in some areas families are
sided early Tuesday as the In this Sept. 27, 2018 file photo, a father gives water to his malnourished daughter at a feeding surviving off leaves boiled
cease-fire took effect, with center in a hospital in Hodeida, Yemen. into a sour green paste.
only sporadic fire from au- Associated Press The fighting and displace-
tomatic weapons heard ment have also generated
across the city. ments on the ground." them. not part of a wider peace a cholera epidemic.
Some 70 percent of Ye- U.N. spokesman Stephane The fighting has killed tens process: It's an agreement U.N. Secretary-General An-
men's food imports and Dujarric said Maj. Gen. Pat- of thousands of people, made for humanitarian tonio Guterres warned Sun-
humanitarian aid enter rick Cammaert, who has and has driven millions to rather than political rea- day that if Yemen's human-
through Hodeida, which re- been appointed to head the brink of starvation. The sons," he said. itarian situation does not
mained open even as the the coordination commit- U.N. calls it the world's worst The United States, which improve, 14 million people
Saudi-led coalition waged tee overseeing the cease- humanitarian disaster. supports the Saudi-led co- will be in need of food aid
a months-long campaign fire, will depart New York British Foreign Secretary alition, has stepped up in 2019, 6 million more than
that failed to dislodge the with a team later this week Jeremy Hunt welcomed pressure to end the fighting this year.
rebels. Aid groups feared headed for Yemen. the cease-fire, urging all amid the fallout from the "There is a high level of
the port's closure could He said the Dutch general warring parties "to stick to killing of Saudi dissident jour- hunger in Yemen," he said,
plunge Yemen into famine. will convene a first meeting the terms agreed at peace nalist and Washington Post adding that even though
The truce agreement, of the committee, which in- talks last week in Stockholm columnist Jamal Khashoggi the situation has not techni-
reached last week at U.N.- cludes military and security so we can achieve a long- by Saudi agents, which cally been declared a fam-
brokered talks in Sweden, representatives from the term political solution to this brought renewed interna- ine "does not in any way
calls on both sides to with- government and the reb- horrific crisis and end the tional attention to Yemen's diminish our huge concern
draw from the city and its els, by videoconference on suffering of so many." stalemated war. with the very high level of
outskirts. A joint committee Wednesday. The cease-fire is the first That provided a boost to hunger that exists."
led by U.N. officers will over- Yemen's four-year con- step in a process the U.N. Griffiths' efforts to bring Last week, an international
see the cease-fire and the flict pits the internationally hopes will lead to a prov- the two sides together in group tracking Yemen's
redeployment of forces. recognized government, ince-wide truce in Hodeida Sweden. In addition to civil war reported that the
Local authorities and po- backed by a coalition and the demilitarization of agreeing on a cease-fire conflict has killed more
lice will run the city and its led by Saudi Arabia and the Red Sea trade corridor, for Hodeida, they also ex- than 60,000 people, both
three port facilities under the United Arab Emirates, said Peter Salisbury, a se- changed lists of prisoners combatants and civilians,
U.N. supervision. against Shiite rebels known nior analyst at the Brussels- ahead of a planned swap since 2016. That is much
U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths as Houthis. Iran supports based International Crisis to be carried out with the higher than the U.N. figure
has said the committee will the rebels, but denies al- Group. Red Cross. of 10,000 civilian deaths,
get to work swiftly "to trans- legations from the coali- "But it's important to note But a wider agreement and has added to the ur-
late the momentum built tion, Western countries and that the deal itself is quite could prove elusive. gency to find a political
up in Sweden into achieve- U.N. experts that it is arming specific in saying that this is The Houthis, who have resolution.q