A ceasefire agreed between Yemen’s warring parties in Hodeidah will begin on Dec. 18, sources from both sides and the United Nations said on Sunday, to try to avert more bloodshed in a port city vital for food and aid supplies.

Iran PressMiddle East: A Houthi spokesperson told media on Sunday that Ansarullah "has received a UN message, which sets the date to begin the ceasefire between the warring parties in the city of Hudaydah on December 18,” Tass reported.

The Yemeni sides reached an agreement on cessation of hostilities in the port of Hudaydah during talks in Sweden from December 6 to 13.

Armed confrontation between Yemeni resigned government forces and Ansarullah has been going on in Yemen since August 2014, reaching the most active phase in March 2015 after the Saudi-led coalition invaded the country.

According to Yemen’s Legal Center for Rights and Development, more than 10,000 civilians, including almost 2,400 children and about 2,000 women, have been killed in the country since the spring of 2015. According to the United Nations, the country is facing the world’s most acute food crisis.

On December 13, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement and the country’s former Saudi-backed government have reached an agreement on a ceasefire arrangement in the Red Sea port city of Hudaydah.

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The UN chief made the announcement shortly after the delegations of Yemeni warring parties agreed that the United Nations should play a “leading role” in negotiations regarding Hudaydah. The vital port city is currently controlled by the Ansarullah movement.

The new round of peace talks aimed at ending nearly four years of a brutal Saudi-led war on its southern neighbor came to a close in Sweden.

Despite nearly four years of military aggression, and the use of advanced American weaponry, and full military and logistic support from Washington, Saudi Arabia and its allies have not been successful militarily.103/209

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