Middle East

Yemen’s Hodeidah calm as ceasefire takes hold after early violations

Yemeni pro-government forces gather in the port city of Hodeidah on Monday hours before the ceasefire started (AFP)

Yemen's flashpoint city of Hodeidah was calm on Tuesday following heavy clashes that erupted after a UN-brokered ceasefire started at midnight, pro-government sources and residents said.

The truce agreed at the UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden came into effect at midnight Monday, but sources said heavy clashes and air raids continued after the deadline.

"There has been complete calm since 03:00 am Yemen time (1200 GMT) in the city of Hodeidah," a military source loyal to the government told AFP on Tuesday.

Residents confirmed by phone that there has been no fighting between the government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition and Houthis since 3am.

However they said that daily fighting is usually fierce in the evening and at night, before coming to a standstill at dawn.

So it was impossible to determine if the halt in fighting was in response to the ceasefire or just a temporary stoppage.

The two warring sides have welcomed the truce in the strategic Red Sea province, with both the internationally recognised government and the Houthis saying they would comply with the ceasefire.

The United Nations said on Monday that the deal was to be implemented at midnight, even though the agreement reached in Sweden last week included an "immediate ceasefire" in Hodeidah and its surroundings.

A UN official, who requested anonymity, told AFP that the delay was necessary for "operational reasons".

Hodeidah residents 'hopeful'

UN envoy Martin Griffiths said on Sunday that the UN was working with both sides to ensure the ceasefire accord was "implemented timely and properly".

The truce is supposed to be followed by the withdrawal of fighters from Hodeidah, whose port is the entry point for the vast majority of imports to Yemen.

A prisoner swap involving some 15,000 detainees is planned and a "mutual understanding" was reached to facilitate aid deliveries to Yemen's third city Taiz, which is under the control of loyalists but has been besieged by the Houthis since April 2015.

The two sides also agreed to meet again in late January for more talks to define the framework for negotiations on a comprehensive peace settlement.

Soon after the talks ended last Thursday, many Yemenis told Middle East Eye they were doubtful that the deal would be successfully implemented on the ground.

The talks in Sweden were the fourth to be held since the Saudi-led coalition began bombing Yemen in 2015.

Magdi al-Qubati, who works as an accountant in Sanaa, told MEE: "I am not stupid enough to believe the lie of peace talks. Yemenis have been negotiating since 2011, but no single agreement was implemented.”

But on Monday, residents in Hodeidah city told AFP that they were hopefuly the ceasefire would lead to lasting peace.

"We are hopeful that things will go back to the way they were and that there would be no aggression, no air strikes and lasting security," Amani Mohammed said.

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Yemenis greet Sweden peace talks with much doubt and some small hope

Another Hodeidah resident, Mohammed al-Saikel, said he was optimistic the ceasefire would pave the way for a broader truce.

"We are hopeful about this ceasefire in Hodeidah and one for Yemen in general," he said.

"We will reach out in peace to whoever does the same."

Yemen has been mired in fighting between the Houthis and troops loyal to President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi since 2014.

The war escalated in 2015 when a Saudi-led military coalition stepped in on the government's side.

Since then, more than 60,000 Yemenis have been killed in fighting, and up to 85,000 children under five may have died from starvation or disease, according to Save the Children.

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