The United Nations Security Council urged the warring parties in Yemen on Monday to withdraw forces from the country's main port of Hodeidah and two other ports "without further delays."

Representatives from both parties met for a second day on a ship on the Red Sea on Monday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, in a UN-led push to implement the stalled troop withdrawal which was agreed at December talks in Sweden.

"Both parties have reiterated their commitment to implementing the Hodeidah aspects of the Stockholm agreement," Dujarric said.

The warring parties were meant to withdraw their forces by Jan. 7 as part of efforts to avert a full-scale assault on Hodeidah, but have failed to do so as the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and the Saudi-backed government disagree on who should control the city and ports.

AFP.