AL-MUKALLA, 01 September 2022, (TON): UN observers in Hodeidah have urged the Iran-backed Houthis to reduce their significant presence in the western Yemeni city, warning that any military action would threaten the UN-brokered ceasefire and Stockholm Agreement.

The UN Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement, or UNMHA, said that it has seen large deployments of Houthi fighters in the city, raising fears of military activity that could undermine a fragile truce in the country.

UN mission said in a statement “Hodeidah must be kept free of military manifestations, as agreed in Stockholm. UNMHA urges the Houthi leadership to respect the terms of the Hodeidah Agreement and refrain from actions that may contribute to escalation, in the interest of all Yemenis.”

A relative peace has existed in Hodeidah since late last year when the joint forces of the government unilaterally abandoned their positions in and around the city to reinforce other battlefields in the country as part of a military plan sponsored by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen.