SANAA, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels said on Saturday that they have begun to withdraw from Hodeidah port as per a UN-brokered peace deal reached in Stockholm two weeks ago.
"According to the Stockholm agreement, our forces have begun since last night (Friday) to implement the first phase of redeployment from Hodeidah port," the Houthis said in a statement released by their Saba news agency.
"We call on the UN-led cease-fire monitoring committee to obligate the other side (government forces) to begin withdrawal from the eastern part of Hodeidah city," the statement added.
However, the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV said the Yemeni government "did not receive any notification about Houthis' withdrawal from Hodeidah port."
The Jordan-based office of the UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths has yet to comment.
On Wednesday, a delegation from the Yemeni government arrived in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah to take part in the joint committee led by the United Nations to oversee the implementation of the cease-fire and withdrawal from its port.
Patrick Cammaert, a retired Dutch general who leads the joint committee from both Yemeni rival forces, namely the Saudi-backed government and the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels, held face-to-face meetings between both rival delegations over the past three days, according to both Yemeni rival media outlets.
Cammaert arrived in Hodeidah earlier this week to oversee the implementation of the cease-fire, which covered Hodeidah and the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa.
According to the truce deal, the withdrawal from the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa and critical parts of the city associated with the humanitarian facilities should be completed within two weeks after the cease-fire enters into force, while the full withdrawal should be completed within a maximum period of 21 days.
However, both rival forces have blamed each other for violations of the cease-fire since it came into force.
Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition in Yemen against the Iran-backed Houthi militia since March 2015, in order to reinstate the exiled government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.
