Yemen: Rebel military parade sparks UN protest

The Shiite Houthi rebels held a military parade in Hodeidah, in the western part of war-torn Yemen, on Thursday, provoking strong protests from the UN, which called on the leadership of their faction, Ansar Allah, to abide by the agreement to demilitarize the city.

In 2018, Yemen’s internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led military alliance, and the Iran-backed Houthis signed an agreement in Sweden to demilitarize the city, home to Yemen’s largest port. It is from this port that most of the international humanitarian aid enters the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, which is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Yesterday Thursday, the rebel Al-Masira TV station broadcast footage of the military parade in Hodeidah, with the participation of air and naval forces. Hundreds of men in military uniforms participated.

The United Nations Mission in Support of the Implementation of the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) expressed via Twitter its “deep concern at the military parade in violation of the agreement” on Hodeidah.

UNMHA is “closely monitoring the situation and reiterates its call on the leadership of Ansar Allah (s.b.: the rebels) to fully comply with its obligations under the agreement, especially regarding the city’s freedom from military demonstrations.”

Hodeidah has been in Houthi hands since 2014. The rebels also control the capital Sanaa and most of northern Yemen.

The armed conflict in Yemen has killed hundreds of thousands of people, uprooted millions more and plunged the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula into one of the worst humanitarian crises on the planet, according to the UN.

The UN-brokered ceasefire agreement that went into effect in April — and has been renewed twice since then — is being broadly respected.

RES-EMP

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