Hodeidah (South24) 

The Joint Forces announced on Friday evening their withdrawal from areas east and south of the city of Hodeidah, North Yemen, which overlooks the western coasts of the country along the Red Sea.

The statement issued by the Joint Forces stated that these withdrawals came "within a plan to redeploy and support other fronts against the Houthis."

The statement stressed that the "redeployment decision" is part of the "national battle" that the Joint Forces are waging.

The Joint Forces said that they began implementing their plan "which defines defensive lines that secure the battle of the West Coast."

The statement also referred to the prevention of the Joint Forces from "liberating Hodeidah" from the Houthis in 2018, due to the Stockholm Agreement.

In response to the statement of the Joint Forces, the UN Secretary-General spokesperson explained that they "were not informed in advance of the movements" in Hodeidah.

In statements to Al-Jazeera, he said that most of the areas that were evacuated in Hodeidah were moved to by the Houthis.

In a related context, the United Nations Mission to support the Hudaydah Agreement (UNMHA) (Stockholm Agreement) said that it had "no information in advance" of the withdrawal of the Joint Forces from those areas.

The UNMHA declared that it was "liaising with the parties to establish the facts."

It also called for "ensuring the safety and security of civilians in and around those areas where shifts in frontlines have taken place."

The Yemeni news agency "Saba" broadcasted a statement to the government team of the Redeployment Coordination Committee, in which they stressed that "what is happening on the West Coast is taking place without the team's knowledge, and without any coordination."

The Iranian-backed Houthis rebels had seized many areas in Hodeidah, such as al-Tuhayta, al-Durayhimi, and Kilo 16, and had advanced in al-Jah and al-Husayniyah.

According to media close to the Houthis, the group reopened the Sanaa-Hodeidah road after their positioning in all locations of Kilo 16, east of the city of Hodeidah.

The Joint Forces consist of the Southern Giants Brigades, the National Resistance led by Tariq Saleh, in addition to the Tuhami Resistance, and receive support from the Saudi-led Coalition.

The National Resistance commander Tariq Saleh, met the UN Envoy to Yemen Hans Grundberg on Thursday in the city of Mocha in Taiz.

Tariq Saleh said on his Twitter account that he had discussed with the Swedish diplomat "the repetition of the Stockholm Agreement in Marib."

The agreement, which was signed in December 2018 between the Yemeni government and the Houthis in Stockholm, under the UN auspices, stopped violent battles to control Hodeidah.

Observers considered the agreement as a UN "lifeline" for the Iranian-backed Houthi rebeles, which escalated their attacks on other fronts in Al-Dhalea and Marib.

South24 Center for News and Studies

Houthi members during their withdrawal from Saleef port in Hodeidah, May 2019. (Reuters)