Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) and head of United Nations Mission to Support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA) Abhijit Guha succeeded on Tuesday in setting up and reinforcing the fourth observation post to monitor a ceasefire in the southern part of the Yemeni city.
“Iran-affiliated Houthi members failed to dismantle cluster bombs planted around the area, forcing Guha to take a difficult route to reach the airport near the village of Manzar, where the fourth post was established on Tuesday,” a field source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Guha held a meeting with representatives of the legitimate government and Houthi militias at the RCC in Hodeidah last Saturday and all parties agreed to start setting up an observation post on the same day, and three others by October 22.
Those posts allow the UN to redeploy its members and observe the truce in Hodeidah from all sides in the coming phase.
The first observation point was established Saturday in al-Mouthalath, the second observation point was set up on Sunday in Saleh, a third last Monday in the Kilo 16 district and a fourth point on Tuesday in the southern al-Manzar area.
Meanwhile, West coast liberation operations spokesman Waddah al-Dbish told Asharq Al-Awsat on Tuesday that Guha and the joint committee had difficulty reaching the fourth observation post due to the presence of several cluster bombs, spread around the area.
Earlier, Brigadier Ahmed Kawkabani, a member of the government team at the redeployment committee, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that the establishment of those observation points places a mechanism for better protecting a truce in the city of Hodeidah.
Lieutenant General Guha of India had commenced his mission early this month, succeeding Lieutenant General Michael Lollesgaard.
The RCC has managed to bring together the legitimate government and Houthi representatives for six rounds of talks aimed at implementing the Stockholm agreement. However, it achieved no breakthrough except for the fragile truce that has witnessed thousands of violations.
