UN Calls for Stockholm Agreement on Yemen to be Implemented Without Delay

FILE PHOTO - The United Nations Security Council meets in New York, US, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
FILE PHOTO - The United Nations Security Council meets in New York, US, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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UN Calls for Stockholm Agreement on Yemen to be Implemented Without Delay

FILE PHOTO - The United Nations Security Council meets in New York, US, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar
FILE PHOTO - The United Nations Security Council meets in New York, US, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Segar

The UN Security Council expressed "grave concern" Wednesday that the Stockholm Agreement reached four months ago by the warring parties in Yemen has not been carried out and called for its implementation "without delay."

The Council reiterated its endorsement of the Dec. 13 ceasefire agreement between Yemen's legitimate government and Houthi militias that called for the rapid withdrawals from the key port of Hodeidah and two smaller ports in the province.

The Council also reiterated its concern about "the continued deterioration of the humanitarian situation across Yemen."

The UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, told the Council Monday there must be progress in Hodeidah before moving to focus on the political solution.

Wednesday's statement urged the rival parties to engage with Griffiths and the head of the UN operation monitoring the withdrawals "to swiftly agree on local security force arrangements" and on the second phase of the redeployment.

Council members also called on the parties "to redouble efforts" to finalize arrangements for a prisoner exchange and to establish a coordinating committee in Taiz, as called for in the Stockholm Agreement.

They "noted with concern continued violence that risks undermining the ceasefire in Hodeidah."



Sudan's Military Accepts UN Proposal of a Weeklong Ceasefire in El Fasher for Aid Distribution

The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
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Sudan's Military Accepts UN Proposal of a Weeklong Ceasefire in El Fasher for Aid Distribution

The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)
The wreckage of cars lie on the remains of the Shambat Bridge, which connects Omdurman and Bahri, on June 24, 2025 in the Sudanese capital region. (AFP)

Sudan's military agreed to a proposal from the United Nations for a weeklong ceasefire in El Fasher to facilitate UN aid efforts to the area, the army said Friday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called Sudanese military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and asked him for the humanitarian truce in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province, to allow aid delivery.

Burhan agreed to the proposal and stressed the importance of implementing relevant UN Security Council resolutions, but it’s unknown whether the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces would agree and comply with the ceasefire.

“We are making contacts with both sides with that objective, and that was the fundamental reason for that phone contact. We have a dramatic situation in El Fasher,” Guterres told reporters on Friday.

No further details were revealed about the specifics of the ceasefire, including when it could go into effect.

Sudan plunged into war in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the Sudanese army and the rival RSF escalated into battles in the capital, Khartoum, and spread across the country, killing more than 20,000 people.

The war has also driven more than 14 million people from their homes and pushed parts of the country into famine. UNICEF said earlier this year that an estimated 61,800 children have been internally displaced since the war began.

Guterres said on Friday that a humanitarian truce is needed for effective aid distribution, and it must be agreed upon several days in advance to prepare for a large-scale delivery in the El Fasher area, which has seen repeated waves of violence recently.

El Fasher, more than 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Khartoum, is under the control of the military. The RSF has been trying to capture El Fasher for a year to solidify its control over the entire Darfur region. The paramilitary’s attempts included launching repeated attacks on the city and two major famine-stricken displacement camps on its outskirts.