Yemen's Houthi movement and the United Nations have agreed on a mechanism to inspect ships docking at Hodeidah following the group's withdrawal from three Red Sea ports under a U.N.-sponsored deal, a Houthi official and a U.N. source said.
The Houthis' unilateral pullout last month from the ports of Saleef, used for grain, Ras Isa oil terminal and Hodeidah, the main entry point for commercial and aid imports, represented the only progress in implementing the deal reached last December.
"We agreed with the U.N. on a mechanism to inspect ships docking in the ports of Hodeidah and its implementation will start in the coming days," Houthi transport minister Zakaria Shami was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the group's Al Masirah TV.
A United Nations source confirmed that an agreement has been reached with U.N. inspection body, the Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM). UNVIM still needs to sign a separate agreement with the Saudi-led military coalition that monitors ships on the high seas heading to Yemen.
Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.
The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.
