Reopening of road out of Taiz blocked by Houthi rbeels

Описание: (11 May 2016) LEAD IN:
The team assigned with opening a Taiz crossing say they have been blocked from doing so by Houthi rebels and other fighters.
An agreement to allow vehicles in and out of the besieged southern Yemeni city was reached several weeks ago.

STORY-LINE:
This road should be busy with traffic, but there's not a vehicle in sight.
The Taiz crossing remains closed in spite of an agreement for it to be reopened.
A ceasefire was meant allow vehicles to enter and exit the city via the western crossing.
But the team tasked with reopening it - called the Pacification Commission - say they have been blocked from doing so by Houthi rebels and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
"Taiz is dead now. No cars come in. We are on the main road which is famous for being very, very crowded and no car can move on it," says Abdel-Karim Shaiban, an MP and member of the Pacification Commission.
"Now the road is empty except for journalists. They say the road is open, which road is open?"
An agreement to reopen the crossing was reached by the opposing warring parties 25 days ago.
But Mohammed Al-Sary, a member of Pacification Commission who supports the internationally recognised government says "Documents we agreed upon with the other party haven't been committed to at all".
Yemen's government wanted the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh to hand over weapons and withdraw from cities captured last year before starting any dialogue.
The Yemen conflict pits the pro-Iranian Houthis and their allies loyal to Mr Saleh against forces fighting to defend Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognised government.


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