Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yemany rejected on Saturday the unilateral withdrawal by the Iran-backed Houthi militias from Hodeidah, saying it violated international law.

He explained that the tripartite mechanism in the UN's Redeployment Coordination Committee (RCC) means that the legitimate government, UN and Houthis must verify any pullout.

The concept of unilateral withdrawal does not exist in the Stockholm agreement or international law, he went on to say.

“If our forces were to carry out a withdrawal, the Houthi representatives in the committee have the right to verify it,” he added.

Moreover, Yemany stated that if the current pullouts were part of future ones, then “we will judge them after they happen.”

The government rejects unilateral moves that are not subject to the necessary monitoring standards that were set by UN Security Council resolution 2451 and 2452, stressed the minister.

The Stockholm agreement is the foundation for building trust between the warring parties and failure to adhere to it would raise suspicions, he said.

The RCC said earlier in a statement that the Houthis would make an "initial unilateral redeployment" between May 11 and 14 from Saleef and Ras Isa as well as the country's main port of Hodeidah.

The head of the UN operation monitoring the ceasefire, Lt. Gen. Michael Lollesgaard, said Friday that the Houthi pullout from the three ports marked the first practical step toward realizing the ceasefire agreed on in December in Sweden.

He added that the Houthis must commit to fully following through on the redeployment.

AFP.