Gargash: Al Houthis paying price for Geneva no-show
COMMENTS COME AS YEMENI FORCES REPULSE MILITANT INFILTRATION BID NEAR HODEIDA
AYemeni military operation unleashed last week with support of an Arab coalition, is “successfully” going ahead to liberate the coastal city of Hodeida from Iran-aligned Al Houthi militants, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash said yesterday.
The battle was launched after Al Houthis failed to appear in Switzerland for UN-brokered peace talks, which were scheduled to start on September 6.
“The current Hodeida operations have successfully fulfilled their aims and Al Houthis’ morale is at its lowest,” Gargash tweeted, adding the militia are paying a “dear price” on the battleground for their no-show in Geneva.
“We are still convinced the liberation of Hodeida holds the key to the solution in Yemen,” he said.
Hodeida is strategically important because it has a harbour, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, as most of the commercial imports and relief supplies enter Yemen through it.
The Saudi-led coalition accuses Al Houthis of taking advantage of their control of Hodeida port to obtain weapons from their Iranian patrons, as well as confiscate aid intended for Yemenis in order to sustain their war effort.
In June, government forces, backed by coalition air power, started a major offensive to expel Al Houthis from Hodeida in western Yemen. The campaign was temporarily halted in support of UN efforts to revive Yemen’s long-stalled peacemaking.
In the past few days, government ■ loyalists have resumed the Hodeida battle and were able to seize control of the strategically important district of Kilo 16 east of the city.
Supply route cut
The breakthrough blocked a main militia supply route linking Hodeida to the capital Sana’a, which is controlled by Al Houthis.
The Yemeni army thwarted an infiltration by extremists into the area, news portal 26 September Net, linked to the Defence Ministry, reported.
“The army troops foiled the militias’ desperate attempts and inflicted heavy casualties on them,” a field source told the site. “Other militiamen fled towards Hodeida,” the source added.
Government forces were, meanwhile, fighting Al Houthis inside Hodeida University, south west of the Red Sea city. The militia have turned the institution into military barracks.
The pro-government Giants Brigades stormed the university on Thursday evening and are engaged in heavy fighting there, the deputy governor of Hodeida said. Al Houthis have been in control of Hodeida and Sana’a since their late 2014 coup against the internationally recognised government.
Saudi pilots killed
Meanwhile, two Saudi pilots were killed when their helicopter came down in the eastern Yemeni province of Al Mahra yesterday, the coalition.
In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the coalition said the helicopter, which belongs to the Saudi ground forces, had crashed following technical issues.
–With inputs from agencies