SANAA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's Houthi rebels on Friday criticized a statement by the U.S. Ambassador to Yemen Matthew Tueller, saying that his remarks pave the way for failing Stockholm Agreement.
"We deplore remarks by the U.S. Ambassador Matthew Tueller who accused Houthi group of hampering the implementation of Hodeidah cease-fire," the rebel group said in a statement carried by the group-controlled Saba news agency.
"We are committed to implementing the deal," they said.
On Thursday, Tueller blamed the Iran-aligned Houthi rebel group for delaying their withdrawal from the main port of Hodeidah, saying that Houthi weapons pose a threat to other countries in the region.
"We are greatly frustrated by what we see as delays and stalling on the part of the Houthis in implementing what they agreed to in Sweden," Tueller told a televised press conference in the southern port city of Aden.
"We will see whether the Houthis can in fact demonstrate a political maturity and start to serve the interests of Yemen rather than acting on behalf of those who seek to weaken and destroy Yemen," Tueller added.
The peace deal was agreed in Stockholm, Sweden, in December last year, which was seen as a first step to end Yemen's war, but it has since stalled after what the United Nations calls that Houthis refused to withdraw.
Head of Houthi Higher Revolutionary Committee Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said in a statement posted on his social media websites on Tuesday that "his group will withdraw from ports but it will keep control the city."
The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including the capital Sanaa and Hodeidah.
The four-year civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
