Aid corridors will be a lifeline to Hodeida

Complete liberation of the port city is essential as it will mark a turning point in the Yemen war

Ahumanitarian crisis loomed in Hodeida as Yemeni government forces fought to regain the city from the clutches of Al Houthi rebels. The fighting had crippled life in the Red Sea city and disrupted the free flow of goods through its harbour. So the Saudi-led Arab coalition’s move to open aid corridors from Sana’a has come as a huge relief to the 600,000 residents of the city. The coalition in coordination with the United Nations humanitarian agency in Yemen will soon establish three safe humanitarian corridors on different routes to help in the transportation of aid. That should calm fears of a prolonged exodus in the face of fierce fighting.

Hodeida is a strategically important port city. It is the lifeline for millions of Yemenis since most of the relief material and commercial products come through the harbour. The lives of Yemeni people were thrown into turmoil since the Al Houthis captured the city in 2014. The rebels have used the port revenues to bankroll their battles with the legitimate government of President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, and its vast coastline served as delivery points for rebel-bound weapons from Iran. Liberation of Hodeida is critical as it will choke the flow of weapons into the country.

The Hodeida offensive against Al Houthis had been put on hold for 11 weeks as the UN tried to broker peace talks. With the rebels failing to show up in Geneva, the efforts of the UN’s Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to bring the warring parties to the negotiations have fallen apart. When fighting resumed in Hodeida, thousands of civilians began to flee the city over fears of a humanitarian crisis. But the gains made by Yemeni government troops, backed by the Arab coalition, enabled the UN to look at the prospect of opening aid corridors. It would bring muchneeded succour to a population struggling with a war that has left more than 10,000 people dead and two million displaced.

The war has devastated the country’s infrastructure, including the health sector. At a time when the Yemenis are grappling with acute poverty and cholera epidemic, the three corridors would allow the coalition and the UN to deliver essential medicines and foodstuffs. The coalition, which includes the UAE, is helping to restore the legitimate government of Hadi with the backing of UN resolutions, and has so far provided $17.6 billion (Dh64.73 billion) worth of assistance.

While the corridors would serve to alleviate the suffering of the Yemenis in the short term, complete liberation of Hodeida is necessary as it will be a turning point in the war that has raged for more than three years. That would help bring the smiles back on Yemeni faces.