A ceasefire came into force early on Tuesday in the Red Sea port of Hodeida after fighting between government-allied forces and Shiite rebels erupted shortly before the UN-brokered truce took hold in the contested city, according to Yemeni officials. They said artillery shelling and heavy machine-gun fire shook districts in the south and east of the strategic city late on Monday in the final hour before the ceasefire took effect at midnight. The fighting took place as the two sides were declaring their intention to observe the ceasefire agreed last week during UN-sponsored talks in Sweden between the internationally recognized government and the Houthi rebels. Fighting subsided as the ceasefire took effect, with only the sporadic sound of machine guns heard in the city, which handles about 70 percent of Yemen’s imports, AP reports.