Coalition committed to peace in Yemen

aden — Battles raged on Monday near a Yemeni port crucial for humanitarian aid, but Saudi Arabia and its allies said they were committed to de-escalating hostilities with Houthi rebels as calls for a ceasefire mount.

The United Nations has appealed for urgent peace talks and warned that an assault on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida would threaten millions of lives.

Yemeni government forces, backed by a regional military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE, say they are now positioned around both the north and south of Hodeida, where clashes have left dozens dead. A source in the Saudiled coalition said the clashes were not “offensive operations”, adding that the alliance was “committed to keeping the Hodeida port open”.

Yemeni military officials said the coalition had sent fighter jets and Apache attack helicopters on Monday morning to back up troops on the ground around Hodeida. The officials say government forces are trying to advance on the outskirts of Hodeida with the aim of surrounding the city and cutting off a major rebel supply route.

The coalition source however said the government alliance was “committed to de-escalating hostilities in Yemen and strongly supportive of the UN envoy’s political process”.

“If the Houthis fail to show up for peace talks again, this might lead (us) to restart the offensive operation in Hodeida,” the source said. “The humanitarian situation in Yemen is unacceptable. We are committed to ending the conflict as soon as possible,” they added. —