The Yemeni internationally recognized government has officially suspended meetings with the UN Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA), saying it will resume attending talks only when the head of the mission is changed.
Retired Lieutenant General Abhijit Guha is the chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and the head of UNMHA. He succeeded Lt. Gen Michael Anker Lollesgaard in 2019.
UNMHA is focused on working to achieve its personal interests, member of the government’s RCC team, Col. Khaled al-Kawkabani, told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“The UN mission in Hodeidah is working for itself and does not work within the agreed framework, and its members did not comply with what we requested regarding the killing of Colonel al-Sulayhi in an area supposedly secured by UNMHA,” al-Kawkabani said.
He also noted that UNMHA did not cooperate with the request to relocate the mission’s headquarters.
The mission, in October 2019, established five observation posts to monitor a ceasefire which was violated by Houthi militias.
“The mission's presence inside the city of Hodeidah places it under the control of the Houthis,” al-Kawkabani contended.
“Guha and his team do not think about the success of the mission as much as they think about obeying and satisfying Houthis so that they can continue their work and receive salaries,” he explained.
The government delegate added that UNMHA, under Guha, has undermined the agreement and “wasted” Hodeidah.
Houthis in Hodeidah are not only committing violations under Guha’s supervision, but are also seeking to occupy new lands.
Al-Kawkabani also accused Guha of implementing the Houthi agenda and said that it was the reason behind the Yemeni Foreign Ministry requesting his removal.
“He (Guha) has been compromised by the Houthis,” he emphasized.
According to the Yemeni Foreign Ministry, violations of the ceasefire committed by Houthi militias have escalated significantly, reaching 7,378 violations during July 2020 alone.
