Al Hudaydah Ceasefire Agreement Means Additional Aid If Sides Adhere - CARE Yemen Director

The ceasefire agreement in Yemen's port city of Al Hudaydah would allow the international humanitarian organization CARE to scale up their aid efforts, however as of yet the warring sides have not adhered to the rules of the agreement, Johan Mooij, CARE's country director in Yemen based in Sanaa, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th December, 2018) The ceasefire agreement in Yemen's port city of Al Hudaydah would allow the international humanitarian organization CARE to scale up their aid efforts, however as of yet the warring sides have not adhered to the rules of the agreement, Johan Mooij, CARE's country director in Yemen based in Sanaa, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

The UN office of the special envoy for Yemen issued a statement on Monday saying that the ceasefire in Al Hudaydah would enter into force at 00:00 local time on Tuesday (21:00 GMT on Monday). This agreement was reached during a round of UN-led consultations in Sweden earlier in December.

"[The ceasefire agreement] would mean we can scale up our activities. According to the report from [the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification], Hudaydah is one of the worst hit governorates in terms of food insecurity. Our office and staff that were temporarily relocated to Bajil (40km from Hudaydah) could then move back to Hudaydah city once the hostilities end, as CARE's office there is right next to the frontlines," Mooij said.

Mooij stated that so far the ceasefire agreement had not been respected by the warring sides. A source in Yemen's Ministry of Defense told Sputnik on Sunday that the Arab coalition launched new airstrikes in Al Hudaydah despite the agreements that were reached in Sweden.

He added that the agreement was a positive step, as it allowed for supply routes to remain open, meaning that commodity prices would hopefully decrease.

"It is indeed very good news particularly because in the agreement is included that the port and supply routes will remain open for commercial and humanitarian supplies ... With enough supplies coming into the country we hope the prices of commodities in the market will drop as well," Mooij said.

Yemen has been engulfed in an armed conflict between the government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi and the Houthi rebels for several years. The Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthis at Hadi's request since March 2015. Intensified military confrontation around the strategic port city began this summer.