Imperial Valley Press

Troops from Saudi-led coalition take Yemen port neighborho­od

- BY AHMED AL-HAJ AND BRIAN ROHAN

SANAA, Yemen — Troops from a U.S.-backed, Saudi-led coalition pounded Houthi rebel positions in Yemen’s Hodeida with airstrikes and a ground assault on Wednesday and now control a major road leading into the city, military officials and witnesses on both sides of the front line said.

An Emirati-trained force known as the Giants, backed by Apache attack helicopter­s, secured an urban area along 50th Street, which leads to the city’s key Red Sea port facilities some 3 miles away, they added.

Speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals or lack of authorizat­ion to brief journalist­s, they said that the Iran-backed Shiite rebels had been firing mainly from elevated and rooftop sniper positions, and have now resorted to burning tires to obscure the gunships’ view. Most civilians have fled the area, they said.

Dozens of fighters have been killed and hundreds wounded from both sides since a renewed coalition offensive on the city began five days ago, following calls by the Trump administra­tion for a cease-fire by late November.

The fighting has left dead bodies lying on the ground and inside burnt-out vehicles at the city’s edge, according to witnesses.

They said several civilians have been killed by shelling in residentia­l areas.

The Saudi-led coalition, which seeks to restore to power the internatio­nally recognized Yemeni government, has been at war with the Houthis since March 2015.

The stalemated conflict has generated the world’s worst humanitari­an crisis.

Hodeida, the main portal for humanitari­an aid to the suffering population, has become the epicenter of the conflict.

A Save the Children supported health facility in Hodeida came under attack on Tuesday morning, damaging one of the pharmacies that supply life-saving medicines, the charity said in a statement.

The group said shelling has also hit residentia­l areas in Hodeida, where the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, roughly half of them children, are in danger.

The charity did not elaborate on which group attacked the facility.

The head of the U.N.’s food and agricultur­e agency and other groups say the conflict has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine, underlinin­g how the internatio­nal community is failing to end hunger.

“We are watching before our eyes an unpreceden­ted human tragedy,” Food and Agricultur­e Organizati­on chief Jose Graziano da Silva told a high-level briefing on food insecurity the U.N. in New York.

“Yemen is living proof of an apocalypti­cal equation: conflicts and food security go hand in hand, and when there is an overlap of climate change and conflict, famine is already on the horizon,” he said.

Also on Wednesday, the internatio­nal medical humanitari­an organizati­on Doctors Without Borders said it was closing its humanitari­an project in the southern Dhale province due to security concerns amid the fighting there. at

Besides Dhale, other active fronts in Yemen include the provinces of Bayda, to the south, and the Houthis’ northern stronghold­s of Hajjah and Saada.

The United States has sold billions of dollars’ worth of arms to Saudi Arabia and provides logistical and other support to the coalition.

In a statement, rebel leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi described the U.S. cease-fire call as hypocritic­al, given that fresh fighting erupted almost immediatel­y after it was delivered.

“The Americans have always sought to escalate, putting out statements of peace while preparing for war,” he said in comments carried by rebel media channels, saying the new offensive was expected.

“The American role is central and essential in the military operation against our people.”

The rebels, who brandish “Death to America and Israel” slogans similar to that of the Iranian leadership, accuse the coalition of being stooges of masters in Washington and Israel.

 ??  ?? In this Aug. 25, file image made from video, a severely malnourish­ed seven-year-old Amal Hussein — whose name means “hope” in Arabic, is weighed at the Aslam Health Center in Hajjah, Yemen. AP PHOTO/HAMMADI ISSA
In this Aug. 25, file image made from video, a severely malnourish­ed seven-year-old Amal Hussein — whose name means “hope” in Arabic, is weighed at the Aslam Health Center in Hajjah, Yemen. AP PHOTO/HAMMADI ISSA

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