Saudi-Led Coalition Violates Yemen Ceasefire 47 Times in 24 Hours

TEHRAN (defapress) – The spokesman of Yemen’s Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya al-Sare'e, said the Saudi-led coalition has violated the ongoing ceasefire in Hudaydah at least 47 times during the past 24 hours as the UN mission arrived in the port city.

News ID: 74527

Date: 24 December 2018 - 11:55

Sare'e said on Sunday that the mercenaries of the US-Saudi alliance continued violations of the ceasefire in Hudaydah, taking advantage of the commitment of the Yemeni Army forces and the Popular Committees to exercise restraint and not to respond to their successive violations, the al-Masirah TC reported.

The Spokesman pointed out that 27 artillery shells were fired at Yemen’s residential areas and the positions of the army and Popular Committees.

Such ceasefire violations by the Saudi-led coalition have continued and are concurrent with the arrival of the head of a UN mission in Yemen’s Hudaydah on Sunday night.

Earlier this month, the United Nations brokered a truce deal as part of confidence-building measures at peace talks in Sweden to avert a full-scale assault on the port that is vital for urgent aid supplies for millions facing starvation.

The ceasefire deal, which covers only Hudaydah, will see international monitors deployed in the city and port with all armed forces pulling out within 21 days of the truce.

The two sides had also agreed a prisoner swap. A Red Cross official said in Geneva on Wednesday they had exchanged lists of a total of 16,000 people believed to be detained.

Hudaydah, the main port used to feed Yemen’s 30 million people, has been the focus of fighting this year, raising fears abroad that a full-scale assault could cut off supplies to nearly 16 million people suffering from severe hunger.

The truce, the first significant breakthrough in peace efforts in five years, is meant to pave the way for a wider ceasefire in the impoverished country and a second round of talks in January on a framework for political negotiations.

Message end/