The truce process in Yemen’s vital aid port of Hodeidah is going a lot more slowly than either side expected, but the process remains open, with the Houthis and the Hadi government meeting once again this week in two-day talks.
The talks will be hosted by the UN, and will be held off the coast in a UN ship. This reflects the distrust that makes getting the two sides in the same room a challenge. That distrust is also a big part of why they haven’t progressed more rapidly on drawdowns and handovers around the port.
The deal was intended to see the port remain open, as both sides would withdraw combat forces and heavy weapons, and would leave the port to be run by neutral, local parties.
This is critical, because Hodeidah is the port through which the majority of Yemen’s food flows, and in fact is the only port for food and medicine accessible for the entire Houthi north. Concern was that fighting over the port would lead food-insecure Yemen into outright famine.
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