Sporadic clashes reported in Hudaydah ahead of truce committee meeting

An AFP correspondent said Yemen’s rival parties had exchanged gunfire on Wednesday and that the sound of heavy artillery could be heard to the east of Hudaydah.

The skirmishes come as retired Dutch Major General Patrick Cammaert is expected to chair a joint committee, including representatives from Yemen's warring factions, to monitor the Hudaydah truce that entered into force on December 18.

Cammaert arrived in Hudaydah on Sunday from the Houthi-held capital, Sana’a, after holding talks with officials from Yemen's former Saudi-allied regime in the city of Aden.

The ceasefire was reached recently in Sweden during peace talks between delegations from the Houthis and the Saudi-backed former government.

The opposite sides agreed to the withdrawal of their forces and the deployment of UN monitors to the port, the entry point for most of Yemen’s commercial goods and vital aid. 

The UN monitoring team is tasked with securing the functioning of Hudaydah and supervising the pullout of forces from the city.

On Tuesday alone, the Houthis recorded at least 31 violations of the Hudaydah truce by the aggressors.

However, an official for the Saudi-led coalition accused the Houthi fighters of 183 violations, saying 10 militants had been killed since the ceasefire went into force.

Hudaydah, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, has seen some of the heaviest fighting in the Saudi-led aggression, which began in March 2015.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched the Hudaydah offensive in June but have been facing strong resistance from Yemeni armed forces — led by the Houthis — as well as the city’s residents.

The Saudi war has killed tens of thousands of Yemeni people and made the country the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

In related news, Saudi-led airstrikes targeted a displaced family in Yemen's northwestern Hajjah Province on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring three others.