HOUTHI MORTAR KILLS CHILDREN AS REBELS SHELL CIVILIAN AREAS
▶ The victims and their mother were trying to flee a Hodeidah neighbourhood under Houthi attack
Three children were killed on Monday night when Houthi forces shelled densely populated areas in the north-east of Hodeidah.
Residents who fled the fighting told The National that in nearly three hours of intense clashes between pro-government forces and Houthis, rebel snipers fired from rooftops around the July 7 area of the city while other Houthi forces fired artillery and mortar shells into civilian neighbourhoods.
“The children were killed by a mortar shell when they tried to flee the city with their mother, who was severely injured,” a resident said.
Another resident told The National that Houthi fighters stormed the 22 May Hospital in the centre of the city.
“They stationed their snipers on the rooftop and prevented the patients and staff from leaving, using them as human shields.
“Among the staff are Egyptian and Pakistani doctors,” the resident said.
Waleed Al Qoudaimi, the undersecretary of Hodeidah province, said in a tweet yesterday that the Houthis had used motorcycles to move Iranian experts and top leaders out of the city.
There have been days of fighting before what many expect will be a major push to recapture the strategic Yemeni port city. Medics at hospitals in the Hodeidah neighbourhood of Bajil reported they had received the bodies of 49 Houthis yesterday morning.
But the announcement of peace talks in Sweden in the coming weeks will probably mean major offensive operations will be halted while a diplomatic solution is pursued.
A spokesman for the Saudiled coalition said on Monday that the government alliance had no plans to launch a full offensive to retake the city.
An initial offensive announced in July was put on hold while UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths led efforts to hold peace negotiations in Geneva. The Houthi delegation failed to attend the September talks.
Residents who fled the city said they believed Houthi forces had suffered casualties in fighting around Hodeidah.
“We have seen many Houthi fighters escaping the city on foot. Hundreds of them fled the front lines without guns,” one resident said.
The coalition-backed forces have cut critical supply lines into Hodeidah in recent months in anticipation of the coming push to recapture the city. Hodeidah is a vital lifeline for Houthi rebels and large segments of the Yemeni population as their main supply link to the outside world.
While it is an important conduit for humanitarian aid entering the country, the Arab Coalition says the rebels use the port to transport weapons and missile parts.
The coalition has demanded the Houthis hand over the port, which the rebels have refused to do.
They offered to allow the UN to run the port under their supervision but insisted they would remain in Hodeidah.
Since the July offensive brought pro-government forces close to the southern edge of the city, Houthis have reportedly been building networks of trenches between civilian homes and laying booby traps and mines.
The UN has said that half the population of Yemen is on the brink of famine, with millions of children facing malnutrition as issues of access and lack of supplies compound a currency crisis in one of the world’s poorest nations.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia are the two leading humanitarian donors to the country, providing more than 50 per cent of the funds required for the UN’s humanitarian response plan this year.
But large shortfalls in international assistance remain and hunger and preventable disease are major issues across much of the country.
There has been a renewed focus on the humanitarian situation since the US called for a halt to hostilities by the end of November.
Yemen’s government yesterday approved a new budget and tax collection measures aimed at bolstering the central bank as the looming famine threatens millions.
The Cabinet backed the formation of a committee to set the government budget for 2019, according to state news agency Saba. It also passed a resolution pushing for the collection of taxes and customs “on all taxable imports at all land, sea and air ports in liberated areas”, or areas under government control.
The Yemeni rial has plunged more than 36 per cent this year.
The rial’s slide triggered a sharp rise in the prices of commodities, especially food and fuel, leaving millions unable to afford basic supplies.
Elsewhere in the country, pro-government forces have taken several villages in the interior, pushing Houthi rebels back and recapturing much of Al Dhalea province.
Sources reported that dozens of rebel fighters were killed and more than 30 captured.
Weaponry seized from the Houthis included a tank, three artillery pieces, five mortars and large amounts of ammunition.
“Troops affiliated with the 83rd Brigade, supported by fighters from the Security Belt Forces and fighters from the Popular Resistance Forces, carried out a wide-ranging offensive on Monday, scoring a significant victory and sweeping the Houthi militia from villages ... [and areas] overlooking the district of Damt,” Saleh Al Mansoob, a journalist covering the battle, told The National.
The military media centre also reported gains in Haja province in north Yemen with the capture of several villages.