Israeli gunfire kills three Gazans during border protest

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Friday voted unanimously to send a civilian observer mission to Yemen to monitor a fragile truce in the strategic Red Sea port of Hodeidah and supervise the departure of combatants.
The Britain-drafted resolution was adopted by all 15 council members after a week of tough negotiations. The text also endorsed the results of recent peace talks in Sweden aimed at ending the four-year-long conflict.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Karen Pierce praised the council’s unanimous support Friday “on this very important issue that affects so many millions of citizens in Yemen today.”

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Yemen’s Houthi militia violates Sweden agreement on ceasefire in Hodeidah – Arab Coalition

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he UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, had urged rapid deployment of UN monitors as “an essential part of the confidence” needed to help implement the Dec. 13 cease-fire agreement between Yemen’s government and Houthi militia reached in Stockholm, Sweden.
The UN-brokered peace negotiations in Stockholm last week saw Yemen’s warring parties agree to a cease-fire and the withdrawal of fighters in Hodeidah, a key gateway for aid and food imports.
The city is a vital lifeline for millions at risk of starvation, and the cease-fire between government forces backed by the Arab coalition and Iran-backed Houthi militia is seen as the best chance yet of ending four years of devastating conflict.
The latest version of the UN draft — which was amended several times this week at the request of the United States, Russia and Kuwait — “insists on the full respect by all parties of the cease-fire agreed” for Hodeidah.
It authorizes the United Nations to “establish and deploy, for an initial period of 30 days from the adoption of this resolution, an advance team to begin monitoring” the cease-fire, under the leadership of retired Dutch general Patrick Cammaert.
According to the UN, Cammaert — who served multiple times as a UN peacekeeper — was expected to arrive in the Jordanian capital Amman on Friday, before heading to the Houthi-held capital Sanaa and Hodeidah.
The draft resolution also authorizes UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to “submit proposals as soon as possible before December 31, 2018 on how the United Nations will fully support the Stockholm Agreement as requested by the parties.”
Diplomats said the UN observer mission could consist of 30 to 40 people, tasked with ensuring the withdrawal of the warring parties from Hodeida and the safe passage of humanitarian aid.
The observers will head up monitoring teams made up of government and rebel representatives, under the auspices of a Redeployment Coordination Committee headed by Cammaert.

(With AFP)