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."



Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
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Türkiye Says Over 273,000 Syrian Refugees Have Returned Home

FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)
FILE - Syrian refugee Ahmed al-Kassem and his family drive a truck loaded with their belongings from Türkiye, on the their way back to the family's home in Aleppo, Syria, Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra, File)

More than 273,000 Syrians who fled their country's civil war to neighboring Türkiye have returned home since the fall of president Bashar al-Assad in December, Türkiye's vice-president said Friday.

"The number of people who have voluntarily returned to Syria since December 8, 2024 has exceeded 273,000," Cevdet Yilmaz was quoted as saying by the official Anadolu news agency.

Some 2.7 million Syrian refugees are still in Türkiye, according to interior ministry figures released in May.

The Turkish government, which supports Syria's new rulers, is hoping to accelerate the return of refugees to ease tensions generated by their presence in parts of the country.