Yemen rebels attack British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt for 'siding with Saudis'

Yemen's Houthi rebels have lashed out at Britain's foreign secretary over comments he made about the flashpoint port city of Hodeida.

Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel Salam criticised Jeremy Hunt on Monday, accusing him of misrepresenting what the warring sides have agreed on at UN peace talks in Sweden.

Hunt said during a visit on Sunday to Yemen that Hodeida "was supposed to be cleared of militia and left under neutral control by the beginning of January."

Abdel Salam hit back at the foreign secretary in a lengthy online statement, saying that the December deal in Sweden never mentioned handing Hodeida to a neutral party.

"We are not surprised by Britain's statements because it has sided with the aggression (Saudi-led coalition)," the spokesman said.

"Because of this we not obliged to explain ourselves to this party - nor do we do deal with them as a mediator,"

He added that the deal stipulated that after warring sides withdraw, Hodeida would be patrolled by an unspecified "local force" with UN observers.

On Friday, Hunt tweeted a picture with Abdel Salam, after a meeting in the Gulf state of Oman to discuss the implementation of the Sweden agreements.

Britain has resisted pressure to halt arms sales to Saudi Arabia, which along with the UAE leads a pro-government alliance in Yemen battling the Houthi rebels.

The coalition has been blacklisted for the killing and maiming of children by the UN, while both sides in the conflict stand accused of failing to protect civilians.

Jeremy Hunt held talks with his Yemeni counterpart in government-held Aden on Sunday, a day after he met with Yemen's embattled president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi in Saudi Arabia, where he has lived in self-imposed exile since 2015.

Hunt's trip to Yemen was the first visit by a Western foreign minister to the war-torn country in years