UN officials leave Yemen's rebel-held capital

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SANAA, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths and Chair of the Redeployment Coordination Committee Patrick Cammaert left the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Wednesday, the Houthi rebels said in a statement.

Griffiths arrived in Sanaa on Monday amid attempts to break a stalemate in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, while Cammaert had been in Hodeidah since late December to oversee the implementation of the cease-fire and military withdrawal of the Yemeni rival parties in line with a peace deal reached in Stockholm last month.

According to Houthi-controlled Saba news agency, Griffiths discussed with the Houthis during his two-day visit the obstacles that prevented the implementation of the peace deal in Hodeidah.

No further details were provided by Houthis or the UN envoy's office.

Under the peace deal, the withdrawal from the ports of Hodeidah, Salif and Ras Issa, as well as critical parts of the city associated with humanitarian facilities should be completed within two weeks after the cease-fire enters into force, while the full withdrawal should be completed within a maximum period of 21 days.

The cease-fire deal went into force on Dec. 18 last year. However, both rival forces have blamed each other for violating the cease-fire and and have not fulfilled the withdrawal of forces.

The UN has said the discussions have been stalled because of different interpretations of the Stockholm Agreement over who would control key points of Hodeidah during a partial cease-fire.

Last week, the convoy of Cammaert came under attack in Hodeidah. Both Yemeni rival forces traded accusations of attacking the UN convoy.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after the Houthi rebels forced him into exile and seized much of the country's north, including Sanaa and Hodeidah.

The four-year war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced 3 million others and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Enditem

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