U.N.: 445,000 have fled besieged Red Sea port city
CAIRO — Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the Hodeida area have been forced to flee amid a Saudi-led coalition offensive to take the key Red Sea port city from Shiite rebels, the United Nations’ refugee agency said Friday, as fierce battles continue to rage in the area.
Some 445,000 of the Hodeida governorate’s residents have fled since June, a figure that underscores the dire situation in and around the city that serves as the main entry point for food and aid, the UNHCR said. The governorate’s population is around 3 million, according to figures from the Norwegian Refugee Council.
The UNHCR also expressed concern over the safety of those trapped in Hodeida as the intensified military operations “are increasingly confining populations and cutting off exit routes.” Figures on those still in Hodeida are difficult to gauge, the agency added.
Yemeni government forces supported by the coalition’s air and naval forces continue to engage in heavy fighting with the rebels, known as Houthis. The fighting has killed dozens of combatants from both sides, with dozens of military vehicles destroyed or burning along the front lines.
In a Friday statement, Yemen’s internationally recognized government based in the southern city of Aden said its forces are advancing toward the north and west of Hodeida and across all fronts with cover from the coalition.
The Saudi-led coalition’s latest push toward Hodeida comes as Yemen’s civil war is a few months away from entering its fourth year. The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 with the aim of defeating the Iran-aligned rebels and to restore the government of Abed Rabu Mansour Hadi. But the coalition has recently come under mounting international pressure to end the war that has resulted in what the United Nations says is the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
On Saturday, the Saudi-led coalition said it has “requested cessation of inflight refueling” by the U.S. for its fighter jets. The announcement came after U.S. officials said the Pentagon was moving to stop refueling Saudi aircraft. The move comes amid increased criticism of Saudi jets indiscriminately striking markets and hospitals, killing civilians.
The U.S. and Britain., major arms suppliers to the Saudi coalition, have recently called for a ceasefire in Yemen and the launch of U.N.-led political talks to end the SaudiIran proxy war.
The fighting around Hodeida, a vital lifeline for most of Yemen’s population, threatens to worsen Yemen’s alreadydire humanitarian situation and risks the obstruction of crucial assistance to the country endangering the lives of millions of Yemenis.
The Norwegian Refugee Council warned of the repercussions the continued fighting may have on millions of Yemenis.
“We are now warning that by allowing this to go on, parties to the conflict and their international backers will be responsible for the death, injury and suffering of millions of people,” Mohamed Abdi, the council’s director in Yemen, said in a statement.