Houthis suffer heavy losses near Hodeida
sanaa — Heavy fighting has been raging around Hodeida as Yemeni government forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition are trying once again to retake the Red Sea port city from the Houthi militia, security officials said on Thursday.
There was no immediate word from either side of the conflict on their casualties. The officials said the fighting was concentrated in the eastern and southern approaches of the city, which is considered the lifeline of Yemen. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak to the media, said areas overrun by the government forces were littered with bodies of Houthi militants. The government forces first tried to retake Hodeida in June, but their offensive was stalemated by the rebels’ resistance. The latest offensive began last week following the failure of what was to be renewed peace talks to resume in Geneva.
One main objective of the ongoing offensive is to cut off the road between Hodeida and Sanaa, thus depriving the capital city, which is controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthis, from supplies arriving by sea. Government forces are also trying to cut off the road to Taiz, a fiercely contested and strategic city south of Hodeida. —
hodeida (yemen) — The Saudiled Arab coalition has said that it has observed sabotage attempts being carried out by the Iran-aligned Houthi militia in the Kilometre 16 area in the Governorate of Hodeida.
In a statement, the coalition said after suffering successive defeats on the Hodeida front, the Houthis planted a large number of landmines on a key road linking the country’s capital Sanaa to Hodeida and set tyres on fire near the warehouses of an international relief agency.
The coalition said that the rebels were making desperate attempts to delay the advance of the joint Yemeni Resistance Forces, including the Al Amalaqah Brigades (Arabic for Giants).
The rebels, the coalition added, had bombed a main gate in the Kilometre 16 area, a key route for the Houthi military reinforcements.
“Taking full control of this route will enable the coalition to cut off
the main supply lines to the rebels inside the Hodeida city and tighten the noose on the collapsing militiamen,” the coalition added.
Al Amalaqah Brigades have already taken control of the Kilometre 10 and Kilometre 7 areas, cutting
off supply lines to Houthi militia up to the Kilometre 16 area in Hodeida.
Dozens of rebels have been killed and many have been taken captive in the coalition’s onslaught against rebels.