The UN Security Council called yesterday for the Houthi militias to "immediately implement" the first phase of the Swedish agreement, which provides for the withdrawal of elements of the Huthi militias from three major ports.
The Council called for the immediate implementation of the Stockholm Agreement on Yemen and welcomed the progress made by the Yemeni parties in the meeting of the Redeployment Committee in the past few days.
In a unanimous announcement, the 15 council members welcomed the recent UN-sponsored agreement between the legitimate government and the Iranian Houthi militia.
The Council called for the "immediate implementation" of the first phase of this agreement, which includes the withdrawal of the various parties to the fighters from the ports of Salif and Ras Issa and then the city of Hodeidah.
Under the agreement reached in Sweden on February 17 the militants have to pull out of ports and away from areas that are vital to humanitarian aid efforts in Yemen.
The agreement also provides for free access to grain silos at the Red Sea mills, which are under the control of legitimate government forces in Yemen.
Security Council member states also expressed "concern at the continuing reports of Huthi violations of the ceasefire".
It called on "the parties to seize this opportunity to advance towards sustainable peace through restraint, reduction of tensions and respect for their commitment to the Stockholm Agreement."
Members appealed to the Yemeni parties to redouble their efforts to end prisoner exchange agreements and to form a joint coordination committee on Taiz. The Council welcomed the constructive engagement of the parties with the United Nations Hodeidah Support Mission.
The statement pointed to the need to make progress towards a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict, in accordance with the resolutions of the Security Council and the GCC initiative, its executive mechanism and its outputs.