The UN Security Council unanimously agreed to send civilian observers to Yemen. All 15 members of the panel voted in New York on Friday for the British bill, which provides for the monitoring of the fragile ceasefire in the strategically important port of Hodeida. Among other things, the observers are to ensure the operation of the port and monitor the planned withdrawal of fighters from the city.
The government and Houthi rebels had last agreed to a ceasefire in their talks under UN mediation in Sweden. Originally, the ceasefire should come into force during the night of Friday. It proved to be fragile, the fighting in the city continued.
Later, the official start of the ceasefire was postponed to Tuesday 00:00 (local time). The agreement applies to the rebel-controlled Hodeida and its port, through which much of the humanitarian aid to Yemen reaches the country.
In Yemen, since 2014, there has been a war between the troops supported by Saudi Arabia and other Arab states by President Abd Rabbo Mansur Hadi and the Shiite Houthi rebels behind Iran. According to UN figures, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the civil war, including thousands of civilians. The country has the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the UN.