HODEIDA, Yemen — Two fuel ships have entered
war-torn Yemen’s port of
Hodeida, the first shipment in months, the rebels who
control the city said Monday, after a UN-brokered truce went into effect.
اضافة اعلان
Yemen has been
embroiled in conflict between the government, supported by a Saudi-led military
coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels since 2014, when the insurgents
seized the capital Sanaa.
Since 2016, the coalition has enforced an air and
sea blockade, with exemptions for aid flights, accusing Tehran of smuggling
weapons to the rebels. Iran denies the charge.
“The fuel ship, Caesar, has now arrived to the port
of Hodeida after being held up for 32 days,” the
Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC),
which is under rebel control, said in a statement.
On Sunday, it announced the arrival of the first ship after it had been “held up for 88 days”.
Flights to and from Sanaa are to follow under the
ceasefire deal.
Areas under rebel control — which include much of
the country’s north and parts of the west — have suffered a fuel crisis for
months, with the Houthis accusing the coalition of detaining oil ships since the
start of January.
But a two-month
truce took effect Saturday, the first day of the
Muslim holy month of Ramadan,
bringing a glimmer of hope in a brutal conflict that has killed hundreds of
thousands and left millions on the brink of famine in Yemen, long the Arab
world’s poorest country.
Essam Al-Moutawakel, a spokesman for the YPC, told
AFP that the latest fuel shipments “will not end the fuel crisis, as the demand
is very high... but it could alleviate its severity”.
Under the
UN-brokered agreement, all ground, air,
and naval military operations, including cross-border attacks, should cease.
In addition, 18 fuel ships are to be allowed into
Hodefida port, a lifeline for Yemen, and two commercial flights a week can
resume in and out of Houthi-held Sanaa airport.
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