The United Nations Mission for the Support of the Hodeidah Agreement expressed “serious concern about the military verification of the Ansar Allah (Houthis) that took place today in the city of Hodeidah in violation of the Hodeidah Agreement”, explaining that “The Mission has taken a close look at the situation and has reiterated to the leadership of Ansar Allah with a call to fully comply with their obligations under the agreement, especially with regard to preventing the appearance of the military in the city.

During a round of peace talks held in the Swedish capital of Stockholm in late December 2018, the Yemeni government and Ansar Allah reached an agreement on iron. The agreement provided for the joint redeployment of forces from the city of Hodeidah and its ports to agreed locations outside the city and ports, but it was not implemented due to disagreements between the two parties over its details.

For almost 8 years, Yemen has been witnessing a bloody conflict between the government army, supported by the forces of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia, and the Ansar Allah group (Houthis), which controls Sanaa and vast territories in the north and west of the country.