Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is leading a military offensive against the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, rejects a ceasefire requested by French President Emmanuel Macron during talks in Paris, an Elysee official says.
As part of the "phase one" of a ceasefire, the Houthi movement's unilateral withdrawal from the key ports began on Saturday, in the most significant advance yet for efforts to end the four-year-old war and relieve hunger.
The United Nations announced a deal on the two-stage pullback from Hudaida city and its ports in February, but the redeployment failed to materialise on the ground and the peace effort has since stalled.
Houthi rebels say their leader, Abdul Malek al Houthi, met with Griffiths on Sunday to discuss the implementation of peace deals from December talks with Yemen's internationally recognised government.
The pullback from Hudaida was initially agreed in December during talks in Sweden but deadlines for both sides to move their forces away from the ports and parts of the city were missed.
The UN-brokered truce came into effect overnight, there were some skirmishes early on, which have now subsided. Hudaida is a key lifeline for aid to impoverished and war-torn Yemen.
Though the warring factions agreed on several issues in Sweden, Yemenis are still waiting to see if the agreement comes into effect.
The war in Yemen pits the internationally recognised government-in-exile, supported by a Saudi-led coalition, against Iran-linked Houthi rebels. It has made Yemen the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Hudaida is a key port city and aid lifeline.
Hamas and Israel have fought a cross-border battle of rocket attacks and air strikes, triggered by a botched Israeli undercover raid in Gaza on November 11, ending an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.
In a letter to The New York Times, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that US-backed YPG terrorists have an alliance with Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad and are sending forces to help him recapture Idlib.
A ceasefire agreement was reached to end a week of clashes in Tripoli that killed at least 50 people, the UN said.
Palestinian sources said late on Thursday that the deal formally went into effect at midnight and it has taken hold "on the basis of mutual calm."
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world.
Copyright © 2019 TRT World.
Like
Follow