China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Saudi-led coalition attacks Yemen’s key port of Hodeidah
ADEN, Yemen — A Saudiled coalition launched an assault on Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah on Wednesday in the biggest battle of a three-year war between an alliance of Arab states and the Houthi militants.
Coalition warplanes and warships pounded Houthi fortifications to support ground operations by Yemeni troops massed south of the country’s largest port, the Yemeni government in exile said.
The “Golden Victory” operation began after the passing of a deadline set by the United Arab Emirates for the Houthis, who hold the capital Sanaa and the main populated areas of Yemen, to quit the sole port under their control.
Hodeidah is a lifeline for Yemenis, handling 80 percent of essential goods to the impoverished country, which the United Nations says is grappling with the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. About 8.4 million people in Yemen face pre-famine conditions, World Health Organization said.
Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, who has threatened attacks on oil tankers along the strategic Red Sea shipping lane, warned the Western-backed alliance not to attack the port and said on Twitter his forces had targeted a coalition barge.
Houthi-run al-Masirah TV said two missiles struck the barge, but there was no immediate confirmation from the coalition.
The UN had been trying to get the parties to reach a deal that would avert an attack on Hodeidah, which it fears would further impede Yemenis’ access to food, fuel and medicine for millions facing disease, including a cholera epidemic.
It estimates that 600,000 people live in the area, and in a worst-case scenario, a battle could cost up to 250,000 lives, as well as cutting off aid and other supplies to millions of people.
Marie-Claire Feghali, spokeswoman of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said that the assault was “likely to exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Yemen”, where water and electricity networks are vital to the civilian population’s survival.
The assault is the first time since the Western-backed coalition of mostly Gulf states joined the war in 2015 that they have attempted to capture such a well-defended major city. The aim is to box in the Houthis in Sanaa, cut their supply lines and force them to the negotiating table.
In late 2014, Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of the country’s north, including Hodeidah, forcing the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.
Yemen lies beside the southern mouth of the Red Sea, one of the most important trade routes in the world for oil tankers, which pass near Yemen’s shores while heading from the Middle East through the Suez Canal to Europe.