Yemen: UN says Patrick Cammaert safe after reported shooting in Hodeidah
2019-01-17 17:58:50
The head of the UN monitoring team in Yemen’s Hodeidah is safe following a reported shooting, the UN said on Thursday.
Saudi owned Al Arabiya reported that Houthi rebel fighters opened fire on Patrick Cammaert and his team in the Red Sea port city.
While the UN did not confirm the shooting had taken place, they said that the head of the Redeployment Coordination Committee was safe.
he UN Spokesman’s office told The National that the tweet was “the only information we have” and refused to elaborate.
UN officials initially said they had no information regarding the alleged shooting and Yemeni government officials said they were working to confirm the incident.
The ceasefire deal called for the deployment of international monitors in Hodeidah and the establishment of a Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC), chaired by retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert, that will oversee implementation of the accord.
The news comes a day after the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to extend the ceasefire monitoring mission for the vital Red Sea Port to post 75 observers for the next six months to ensure the fragile truce is held.
The deal will almost quadruple the number of UN staff on the ground monitoring the ceasefire agreement, made in Sweden last month.
AFP.