Shooting at UN Convoy; Head of Ceasefire Monitoring Team in Hodeidah Safe

Following the shooting at the ceasefire monitoring convoy in Hodeidah, Yemen, the United Nations announced on Thursday that Patrick Cammaert, head of the ceasefire monitoring team, is safe. According to Reuters, Houthi militants, supported by Iran, control the interior of the port of Hodeidah, while Yemeni government forces and their allies control the surrounding areas. Both sides accuse each other of firing at the UN convoy. The Security Council will hold a meeting to review the ceasefire process in Hodeidah. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, stated that the convoy accompanying Patrick Cammaert was attacked after leaving negotiations with representatives of the Yemeni government. Dujarric, speaking to reporters in New York, said they were targeted while leaving the area in vehicles marked with the UN emblem. We have no information regarding the perpetrator or perpetrators of this shooting. The UN spokesperson added that Patrick Cammaert has called for restraint from both sides to maintain the ceasefire in Hodeidah. However, Dujarric emphasized that both parties involved in the Yemeni civil war are responsible for the health and safety of UN personnel. An Arab coalition source led by Saudi Arabia told Reuters that the UN convoy was visiting an area controlled by this coalition when Houthi militants fired at the convoy. On the other hand, Houthi militants stated in a statement that coalition forces fired at the UN convoy in eastern Hodeidah. Patrick Cammaert traveled on December 22 to monitor the implementation of the ceasefire in Hodeidah. The warring parties in Yemen agreed on a ceasefire in Hodeidah last month during a UN-mediated peace conference in Sweden. In this context, members of the UN Security Council approved a mission of 75 ceasefire observers in Yemen yesterday. These observers are set to be stationed in Hodeidah for six months. The port of Hodeidah is a vital entry point for receiving food and medicine, and millions of Yemenis on the brink of famine rely on the port's operations. Following the capture of Sana'a, the capital of Yemen, by Houthi Shiite militants supported by Iran in 2015, a coalition of Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia intervened militarily to support the government of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in Yemen to prevent the Houthis from advancing southward. Intense fighting between the warring parties in Yemen has been ongoing for the past four years. Reuters reports that the number of civilian casualties in the Yemen war, which is viewed as a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, is very high but not precisely known. The United Nations announced in 2016 that at least 10,000 people had been killed solely due to military conflicts.