Houthi militias breached ceasefire says Yemen's foreign minister

Ahmed bin Mubarak calls on international community to preserve the truce

Ahmed Awad Bin Mubarak, Yemen's Minister for Foreign and Expatriates Affairs, said a two-month ceasefire was being 'threatened by Houthi breaches'. AP

Yemen’s Houthi rebels are breaching a truce reached by the country’s warring sides this week, Foreign Minister Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak said on Tuesday.

A two-month ceasefire, brokered by the United Nations, came into place on Saturday, with oil shipments reaching the port of Hodeidah on vessels that had been barred from entering for months. The deal is seen as a potential milestone towards ending the seven-year war in Yemen.

“The truce has been greatly welcomed but it is threatened by Houthi breaches including military deployments, mobilisation of troops and vehicles, artillery and drone strikes,” Mr Mubarak said on Twitter.

“This requires the international community to preserve what has been achieved,” he said.

The truce comes as consultations are being held between Yemen's various political factions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to revive UN-led peace talks aimed at ending the war.

The Saudi-led coalition, which has been battling the Houthis in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2015, began observing a unilateral ceasefire on Wednesday. That offer had been rejected by the rebels.

Saudi Arabia had proposed the unilateral ceasefire as part of talks it hosted aimed at resolving the war in Yemen. However, the Houthis did not attend the negotiations.

The UN envoy said the parties agreed that commercial flights will “operate in and out” of Sanaa International Airport, which had effectively been out of service due to the fighting.

Yemen's warring parties further agreed to meet under the UN envoy's auspices to open roads in the besieged southern city of Taez and other governorates.