Erik Ohlsson: the Next risky step is the UN forces entering

On Tuesday, was Hodeidah, a city in the anguished rest. Tormented civilian has for months been forced to live in the crossfire between the huthierna, who mastered the city, and the attacking government forces and its fighter jets. Now all hope and pray that the ceasefire announced when måndagsdygnet went over in Tuesday to hold.

Initially, it looked jittery. It came several reports on the continue the exercises and the occasional fire with light artillery. But as Tuesday progressed, was the tranquility of the great seen in. Early on Tuesday evening, the sky was free from the attacking plane.

Residents (in Hodeidah) pray to God that the ceasefire will hold, in and of itself. The situation is beyond desperate here. The majority of the population do not know from where they will get their next meal, " says Salem Jaffer Baobaid, local representative for the charity Islamic Relief when he is interviewed by the tv channel al-Jazeera.

Fighters from the regeringssidan at a checkpoint in the port city of Hodeida on Monday, hours before the ceasefire agreement to take effect. Photo: AFP

a beginning is monitored by a small, unarmed observer mission from the united nations, led by the Dutch general Patrick Cammaert. A monitoring committee led by Cammaert will meet already on Wednesday, according to the UN special Jemensändebud Martin Griffiths.

It was Griffiths who negotiated last week's agreement between the huthierna and regeringssidan on Johannesbergs castle outside of Rimbo. The ceasefire in Hodeidah is considered to be a key issue for Yemen to be able to begin the road to peace.

– the Aim is that the warring parties have withdrawn from the city of Hodeidah before the year is out. If this is successful, a second phase to begin, which means that the port area of the city is freed from the troops, " said Griffiths to the radio station BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday.

from Hodeidah food and medicine shipped into the port and further along the main road to the capital, Sanaa, about thirty miles to the east.

But before the UN plan come so far, a number of practical obstacles to be overcome, not only on the ground in Yemen but also in the UN-högkvarteretet in New York city.

It is still unclear how large a role the UN will play in Yemen. The small ”vanguard” as general Cammaert leads included in the UN-mediator Griffiths mandate. But it will not be enough. Therefore, countries in the UN security council as soon as club pass a resolution that determines how many observers should be included in the Jemenstyrkan, if the UN-seconded, shall be armed and how active they should be in the work around the port.

the united nations mediator Martin Griffiths are out on dangerous ground here. And it is not only that Yemen is one of the world's mintätaste countries.

no one can say how Yemen's warring parties will react to a UN presence. In the worst cases repeated the scenario that was played out in the beginning of the Syrienkriget the summer of 2012. At the time, was sent to 300 UN observers to Syria to oversee a peace plan, which the then UN mediator, Kofi annan negotiated.

But the regime and the rebels in Syria ignored in the UN agreement and continued the war. The unarmed UN observers, who came from 48 different countries, got to spend most of your time at the hotel. The mission was not that they were otilräckligt prepared. The ”blue berets” was sent quickly home, their efforts are aggravated as soon as Syrienkrisen. A development which no one wants to see repeated in Yemen.

Read more: Ceasefire in Yemen over in a few minutes