Houthis’ withdrawal game from Hodeidah ports

September Net
The legitimate Yemeni government condemned the Iran-backed Houthi militias’ “policy of deception” after they announced their pullout from the ports of the Red Sea city of Hodeidah.
Government officials cast doubts over the handover process, saying it was unclear who was taking control of the ports.
Yemen’s information minister accused the militias of faking the pullout.
Mo’amar al-Eryani said that Houthi militia offer for redeployment from the three ports is inaccurate and misleading.
In series of tweets, Al-Eryani added that “any unilateral withdrawal that does not allow for joint monitoring and verification is unacceptable.”
He explained that the Houthi offer comes within the militia’s attempts to mislead the international community and Security Council in order to avoid any firm positions may be taken by the council in its next round toward the militia’s persistence on hindering the Stockholm Agreement and undermining peace efforts
“What the Houthi militia did is a repeated theatrical play of handing over control of the port to its own forces (in different uniforms),” al-Eryani tweeted on Sunday.
“This shows its continued manipulation and evasion to implement the Sweden agreement… by adopting a policy of deception.”
Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yemany rejected on Saturday the unilateral withdrawal by the Iran-backed Houthi militias from Hodeidah, saying it violated international law.
He explained to Asharq Al-Awsat that the tripartite mechanism in the UN’s Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) means that the legitimate government, UN and Houthis must verify any pullout.
The concept of unilateral withdrawal does not exist in the Stockholm agreement or international law, he went on to say.
The government rejects unilateral moves that are not subject to the necessary monitoring standards that were set by UN Security Council resolution 2451 and 2452, stressed the minister.
The Stockholm agreement is the foundation for building trust between the warring parties and failure to adhere to it would raise suspicions, he said.
The governor of Hodeidah, Al-Hasan Taher, said Saturday the Houthis were merely reshuffling personnel.
“The Houthis are staging a new ploy by handing over the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Issa to themselves without any monitoring by the UN and the government side,” said the official.
“This is totally rejected by us, and the agreement must be implemented in full, especially with regards to the identity of the troops that will take over from the Houthis,” he added.
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