Stockholm deal breathing its last in Yemen

Ali Rajab

Whether the Stockholm deal is still alive, is a question repeated violations by the Houthi militia answers in the negative. The Iran-aligned militia has a goal to destabilize the Red Sea and threaten the international maritime movement.

Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eriani said the Stockholm deal is no longer a step on the road of peace in his country.

The deal, he said, had turned into a deal a tool in the hands of the Houthis and their Iranian benefactors to threaten regional and international security and peace.

He said on Twitter that it is important to reevaluate the deal, seven months after it was signed.

The deal is proving a failure because of the repeated violations of the Houthis, even as the Arab Coalition and the international community want real peace in Yemen.

He noted that the militia had not only obstructed the implementation of the Stockholm agreement by withdrawing from the city and the ports of Hodaydah, but had not complied with the ceasefire and continued its daily violations by shelling villages, homes and army positions in an attempt to control liberated sites. He said the Houthis continued to plant mines and explosive devices in these areas.

He pointed to Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia.

“Not only do the Houthis escalate the war on Yemenis at home, but they also increase their hostile operations on civilian facilities in neighboring countries,” Eriani said.

He noted that the Houthis had exploited the Stockholm deal to bomb Hodaydah and dig long and multiple tunnel networks.

This, he added, confirms its lack of seriousness in implementing the agreement since the first day of its signing.

He said the militia bombs public roads and digs tunnels under houses and residential buildings.

A report issued by the monitoring teams of the joint resistance forces in Hodaydah said that the militia had committed 6,274 violations in the city and in the southern suburbs since the truce took effect.

It added that the violations resulted in the killing and wounding of about 961 civilians, in addition to the killing of 212 soldiers and wounding 1,266 others.

Thirty-eight houses were totally and partially destroyed by artillery shelling, in addition to 17 civilian installations and institutions, the report said.