Yemen clashes near Hodeida kill 150 in a week: Sources
Hodeida, Yemen - Some 150 Yemeni pro-government soldiers and Huthi rebels have been killed in a week of fighting south of the strategic port city of Hodeida, military sources said on Monday.
Impoverished Yemen is mired in a devastating conflict between Iran-backed Huthi rebels and government forces backed by Saudi Arabia that has left tens of
Supporters of Yemen’s Huthi movement raise their fists up as they chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the closed US Embassy to reject outgoing US President Donald Trump’s decision to designate the Huthi group a ‘foreign terrorist organisation’, in the capital Sanaa on Monday
sides has reached around 150 dead and 260 wounded,” an official of the pro-government forces told AFP.
The toll was confirmed by a local official on the rebel side.
The clashes had so far not resulted in any territorial gains for the rebels, residents said.
After fierce fighting on Saturday and Sunday, the intensity of clashes cooled early on Monday.
Pro-government forces have suffered 27 fatalities and killed
44 rebels in countering ‘several assaults’ by the rebels, two other pro-government sources said.
Medics and rescue workers said that military fatalities on the two sides had reached 70 between Saturday and Sunday.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders said on Twitter that its team in the Mocha Trauma Hospital was engaging a ‘mass casualty plan’ to respond to an influx of wounded.
‘We are intensely worried for
civilians living near the frontline areas,’ it added, noting ‘intense fighting’ along the southern Hodeida frontlines.
It was not clear whether the latest bout of fighting had so far caused civilian casualties.
In early January, five women were killed by a shell when it hit a wedding hall near Hodeida airport, located on the frontline.
Yemen’s war has killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and, according to the UN, left 16
million on the brink of famine.
UN and EU officials and aid groups have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis after outgoing US President Donald Trump’s administration classified the Huthi rebels ‘terrorists’.
The designation is expected to halt many transactions with Huthi authorities, including payments to medical personnel and for food and fuel, due to fears of US prosecution.