Clashes closer to city centre
Houthis send in reinforcements as Saudi forces advance
ADEN: Yemen’s Houthis deployed additional forces in the main port city of Hodeidah as a Saudi-led military coalition moved closer to the city centre in the largest offensive of the war, raising UN fears of a humanitarian catastrophe.
The alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched its assault yesterday on the heavily defended Red Sea city on June 12 to try to weaken the Iranaligned Houthi movement by cutting off a key supply line for the group which controls the capital Sanaa and most populated areas.
“There is a heavy deployment of armed Houthis in the city and new checkpoints have been set up where there are supporters of the Tehama brigades,” said one resident, referring to a Yemeni faction from the Red Sea coastal plain that is fighting with coalition forces.
Fierce clashes broke out after midnight near Hodeidah University, around 3km west of the city centre, on the coastal road linking the airport to the port, added the resident, who requested anonymity.
Coalition forces seized the airport on Wednesday and have been consolidating their hold in the area as UN efforts continued to reach a political deal that would avert an assault on the port, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis.
The United Nations fears the escalation in fighting could exacerbate what is already the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis, with 22 million Yemenis dependent on aid and an estimated 8.4 million said to be on the verge of starvation.
The Western-backed coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government in exile, but since then neither side has made much progress in the war, widely seen as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The World Food Programme said the fighting could result in up to 1.1 million people being displaced or trapped within the city and in need of emergency food assistance.
UN envoy Martin Griffiths has visited Sanaa and Saudi Arabia to try to negotiate a solution.
The Houthis have indicated they would be willing to hand over management of the port to the United Nations, sources said.
A US official said Washington was urging the Saudis and Emiratis to accept the deal. — Reuters