The Arab Coalition backing Yemen's government against the Houthi rebels has urged the United Nations Security Council to act against the militia's repeated breaches of the Hodeidah ceasefire and blocking of access to humanitarian aid.
In a letter to the council on Tuesday, the UAE, Yemeni and Saudi Arabian missions to the UN called for pressure to be put on the Houthis because the truce had not been honoured more than 100 days after it came into force following peace talks in Stockholm.
The coalition also suggested that new negotiations should take place.
“Our governments still believe that if the Stockholm agreement were fully implemented it would significantly improve the humanitarian situation of millions of Yemenis,” the letter stated.
“Further UN-led negotiations could also lead to the political solution the conflict in Yemen so urgently needs.
"It is therefore incumbent on the Security Council to maintain pressure on the Houthis and Iran to end their obstruction of the Stockholm process.”
The signatories said the rebels stopped a World Food Programme team on April 2 from reaching the Red Sea Mills in Hodeidah, where 51,000 tonnes of grain is stored.
“The Houthis blocked access while claiming, implausibly, that coalition forces in the area posed a danger to the WFP team," the letter said.
“On the military side, the coalition has diligently observed the Stockholm ceasefire. The Houthis, on the other hand, have violated the ceasefire no fewer than 3,047 times.”
An attachment to the letter detailed the breaches.
“We urge members of the UN Security Council to call on the Houthis to implement the Stockholm agreement in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2451, to permit the passage of humanitarian aid, to respect the ceasefire and to comply with the measures agreed on,” the letter concluded.
