AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - The Latest on developments in Yemen (all times local):
8:05 p.m.
The U.N. spokesman says the head of its Yemen mission charged with monitoring a cease-fire and withdrawal of rival forces from Hodeida was leaving a meeting with Yemeni government representatives when a U.N.-marked armored vehicle in his convoy was hit with one round of small arms fire.
Stephane Dujarric told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York that “we do not have information as to the source of the fire.”
He said retired Dutch Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert was not in the vehicle that was hit and he and his team returned to their base safely.
Dujarric said Cammaert “has reiterated his appeal for calm and the strengthening of the cease-fire by all sides in the wider interests of all the people of Yemen.”
“I can assure you that general Cammaert and his team are supplied with the strongest possible security measures the U.N. can supply,” Dujarric said. “But it is important to add that all the parties in Yemen are also responsible for the safety of all U.N. personnel in Yemen.”
He added: “We are dealing with a highly volatile environment in Hodeida.”
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5:25 p.m.
The U.N. spokesman says the head of the U.N. mission charged with monitoring a cease-fire and the withdrawal of rival forces from Yemen’s key port of Hodeida and his team are safe following a reported shooting incident.
Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations is seeking details of Thursday’s incident involving retired Dutch Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert and his staff.
Reports said it took place while Cammaert was in a vehicle heading to a meeting in Hodeida.
Cammaert has been in Hodeida since late December trying to get the government and Houthi Shiite rebels to strengthen a cease-fire agreed to in Stockholm on Dec. 13 and agree to arrangements for the deployment of their forces.
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12:05 p.m.
Representatives of Yemen’s warring sides are meeting for a second day in the Jordanian capital for talks on implementing a prisoner exchange agreed to in Sweden last month.
The office of U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths has described the two-day meeting between the Houthi rebels and the internationally recognized government as a “technical one.” The International Committee of the Red Cross is also attending, and a closing statement is expected later on Thursday.
Yemen plunged into civil war in 2014, when the rebels captured the country’s capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition intervened a year later, fighting alongside government troops.
In Sweden in December, the two sides agreed to confidence-building measures, including an exchange of thousands of prisoners. But the implementation of that deal has been slow and marred by violence.
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