Resumption of fighting in Yemen’s Hodeidah threatens UN peace efforts
Fighting between pro-government forces and Houthi fighters has resumed in Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah, raising questions about the fate of the UN peace efforts.
The fighting eased in past days while the UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, was continuing negotiations with the warring parties in an effort to stop an offensive by the government forces with support from a Saudi-led military coalition on Hodeidah and to restart the political process.
Griffiths left the temporary capital Aden on Thursday without making a statement about the outcome of his meeting with internationally-recognized President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi. Meanwhile, observers argued that the impact of the offensive transcends the borders of Yemen to Arab countries including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and other regional players, Iran in particular.
Hodeidah has a strategic location near one of the busiest waterways, the Bab El-Mandab strait, where Gulf crude exports pass. Observers also say Egypt will not accept or allow any group to threaten shipping passing through the Suez Canal.
Egypt is a member of the coalition which has been fighting the Houthis to restore Hadi’s government since March 2015.
Fares Albeel, a college professor and political commentator, said recapturing Hodeidah means Iran loses a strategic space to keep its influence in the region.
“It means the fall of Iran’s project to expand its influence through taking control of seaports in the region amid mounting international pressure to weaken Iranian alliances,” he said.
“On the other hand, recapturing Hodeidah will help the Arab coalition restore trust of the international community at a time when it is facing mounting pressure over civilian casualties and humanitarian crisis. But more importantly, it will weaken the European bid to keep the Houthis a key player on the ground,” Albeel added.
From a security perspective, Albeel said, the liberation of Hodeidah will help restore security and stability in west Yemen and reduce serious threats to maritime traffic in the Bab El-Mandab strait.
The Yemeni government and the coalition are accusing the Houthis of using the Hodeidah seaport for smuggling Iranian weapons including ballistic missiles, threatening maritime traffic in the Red Sea and obstructing humanitarian activities, an accusation both the Houthis and Iran deny.
Iran lately deployed two warships to the Gulf of Aden, in a seen to indicate Iranian confusion as the government and the coalition are pressing with the Hodeidah offensive. Nabil Albukiri, a researcher on international strategies, said: “For the Houthis, losing Hodeidah will be a devastating military, economic and political blow.”
Yaseen Al-Tamimi, a political commentator, however, said protecting maritime traffic depends on the ability to secure the city and prevent Houthi attacks after retaking it.
“The key point then is about whether Hodeidah will be run by the internationallyrecognized government or not. If it remains under coalition control, the situation could be complicated; the Houthis will seek to retaliate by all means,” Al-Tamimi said. The Houthis have been demanding that all foreign troops withdraw from Yemen as a precondition for resuming the political process.