United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock (Front) briefs the Security Council on the situation in Yemen, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Feb. 19, 2019. The first redeployment of forces in Hodeidah of Yemen could possibly begin later Tuesday, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security Council via video link from Amman on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- The first redeployment of forces in Hodeidah of Yemen could possibly begin later Tuesday, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths said Tuesday.
"With the beginning, possibly even today or tomorrow, of the implementation of that part of the Hodeidah agreement, we now have the opportunity to move from the promise made in Sweden to hope now for Yemen," Griffiths told the Security Council via video link from Amman.
"This will facilitate humanitarian access to the Red Sea Mills," the special envoy said.
"I am grateful to the leadership of both parties who have made concessions to allow this to happen. I call upon the parties to immediately start implementation of the agreement without further delays and agree on the details of the second phase of the redeployments," he added.
Yemen's government and Houthi rebels agreed on Sunday to the first phase of the pullback of forces, which is a key provision of a ceasefire deal reached in Sweden last year.
Griffiths on Sunday arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa to follow up the implementation of Stockholm Agreement on Hodeidah.
