Airport surrounded but still in Houthi hands

ADEN: Yemen’s Iranaligned Houthi movement fought yesterday to keep a Saudiled coalition from taking full control of the airport in the port city of Hodeidah in an offensive the UN says could trigger a famine imperilling millions of lives.

The alliance, led in the Hodeidah assault by the United Arab Emirates, is attempting to capture the welldefended city and push the Houthis out of their sole Red Sea port, in the biggest battle of the war.

‘‘Death and poverty are all around us. We are scared to leave our homes after the fighting reached the airport,’’ Abdelqader, a resident, said by phone.

‘‘No work, no salary, we are just waiting for God’s mercy.’’

Ground troops including Emiratis, Sudanese and Yemenis from various factions have surrounded the airport compound but have not seized it, a source in the coalitionallied Yemeni military and residents said.

UN special envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths arrived in the Houthiheld capital, Sanaa, as fears grew the fighting would sever the only lifeline to the vast majority of Yemenis.

The battle for Hodeidah could have ramifications far beyond the densely populated city of 600,000. Yemen’s conflict is part of a regional proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Fighting closed off the city’s northern exit, blocking a key route east to Sanaa and making it harder to transport goods to mountainous regions.

‘‘Humanitarian agencies cannot currently access areas south of the city where people are most likely to have been injured, affected and displaced, leaving us without a clear picture of needs,’’ the Norwegian Refugee Council’s office in Yemen said.

The UN has warned in a worstcase scenario, up to 250,000 lives would be at risk. — Reuters