SANAA, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- The UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths on Wednesday welcomed the achievement of the joint cease-fire observation sites built along Hodeidah port city frontlines between the Yemeni warring parties.

"I welcome the establishment of the joint observation posts by Yemeni parties and the deployment of liaison officers along the Hodeidah city frontlines in Yemen. This step forward will enhance de-escalation in flashpoint areas and save lives," Griffiths wrote on Twitter.

Abhijit Guha, newly-appointed head of the UN cease-fire monitoring mission in Hodeidah, has observed this process on the ground over the past four days.

"The two parties (the Yemeni government and its foe Houthi rebels) finalized written agreements in all four locations and deployed liaisons officers at each observation post," Guha was quoted by a UN statement as saying.

Guha called on the Yemeni rival parties to "reduce rhetoric and support the efforts to maintain cease-fire in Hodeidah."

"After establishing four ceasefire observation posts, today the fifth observation post was set up and it's the last step," said Wadah Dubaish, spokesman for the pro-government forces in Hodeidah.

The process came in accordance with a UN-sponsored cease-fire agreement reached in Stockholm in December 2018.

The cease-fire deal was seen as the first phase toward achieving a comprehensive political solution to end the civil war in Yemen.

The grinding war of more than four years has pushed over 20 million people to the verge of starvation.

Iran-allied Houthi rebels control much of Hodeidah while the Saudi-backed government troops have advanced to the southeastern districts.

Hodeidah is the key lifeline entry of most Yemen's commercial imports and humanitarian aid.