UN team arrives in Yemen to monitor cease-fire

ADEN - The head of a United Nations advance team tasked with monitoring a cease-fire between the Iranian-aligned Houthi group and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen's Hodeidah has arrived in Yemen, UN and local officials said on Saturday.

The sides in Yemen's nearly four-year war agreed during Un-sponsored peace talks in Sweden earlier this month to stop fighting in Hodeidah city and its province and withdraw forces. The truce began on Tuesday but skirmishes continued on the outskirts of the city.

On Friday the UN Security Council unanimously approved the deployment - for an initial 30 days - of an advance monitoring team led by retired Dutch General Patrick Cammaert.