Saudi-led forces begin attack on Yemen port city, ignoring UN warnings
YEMEN - An operation to recapture the northwestern Yemeni port city of Hodeidah got underway at dawn yesterday, potentially putting a quarter of a million people at risk.
Saudi-led coalition-backed forces launched attacks on the city’s airport and other neighborhoods in the southeastern part of the city, with air force and navy support, Yemeni National Army General Mohsen Al Khosrof told CNN.
Last week, the UN said that in a worst-case scenario as many as 250,000 people could be killed in an offensive against Hodeidah.
The city, which is currently under the control of Iranbacked Houthi rebels, is considered a lifeline for the country’s war-ravaged population. About 90% of food, fuel and medicines consumed in Yemen are imported with 70% of that coming through Hodeidah, according to the UN.
In a statement tweeted by Yemen’s information minister, the government of Saudibacked President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi hailed the offensive as “the beginning of a complete victory to liberate Yemen’s territory all the way to the capital of Sanaa.” A Saudi-led coalition, which includes the United Arab Emirates, has been in a virtual stalemate with the Houthis since a coalition offensive began in March of 2015. The Houthis control parts of northern Yemen, including Hodeidah and the Yemeni capital, while Yemen’s coalition-backed government controls much of the south.
The UAE called on the international community to pressure the Houthis to abandon the port.
“The international community must pressure the Houthis to evacuate Hodeida & leave the port intact. Their use of land & sea mines shows a cruel & callous disregard for Yemeni lives,” the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said in a tweet.
(CNN)