The United Nations Security Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution calling for the deployment of up to 75 observers to Yemen's port city of Hodeidah for six months to monitor a ceasefire and redeployment of forces by the warring parties. After a week of U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Sweden last month, the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed Yemen government foes reached the deal on Hodeidah, the entry point for most of Yemen's commercial goods and aid supplies, and a lifeline for millions of Yemenis on the verge of starvation. The 15-member Security Council last month authorized an advance monitoring team led by retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert and asked U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to recommended a larger operation. The British-drafted resolution adopted on Wednesday asks Guterres to “expeditiously” deploy his recommended larger operation, which will be known as the United Nations Mission to support the Hodeidah Agreement (UNMHA). The resolution also “requests Member States, particularly neighboring States, to support the United Nations as required for the implementation of UNMHA's mandate.”
