Asharq Al-Awsat

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.

“What the Houthi militia did is a repeated theatrical play of handing over control of the port to its own forces (in different uniforms),” Moammer al-Eryani tweeted on Sunday.

“This shows its continued manipulation and evasion to implement the Sweden agreement… by adopting a policy of deception.”

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.