AFP |
Fighting for control of Yemen’s rebel-held city of Hodeida reached residential streets on Sunday, as the Huthi insurgents mounted fierce resistance to government forces backed by Saudi Arabia, military sources said. Fears for civilian safety have been rising since November 1, when the loyalist forces renewed an operation to take Hodeida. The Red Sea port city has been in the grip of Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels since 2014.
Mariam Aldogani, Save the Children’s field coordinator in Yemen, said that the people in Hodeida are living in a “state of fear”. “There is a lot of fear among residents, and some fear keeping their (loved ones) in hospitals as battles intensify,” she said by phone about a kilometre away from the port, as strikes were heard in the background.
Troops entered residential streets in eastern Hodeida Sunday with the aim of “purging them of insurgents”, according to a pro-government military official. Rebels entrenched in the streets and positioned on rooftops battled to keep loyalist fighters out of a neighbourhood located between two major landmarks in Hodeida, the city’s main hospital and vegetable market, both essential to the daily lives of civilians.
The World Health Organization estimates nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the war since 2015, while rights groups believe the toll may be five times as high.
Residents south of the site of Sunday’s clashes said they could hear gunfire and shelling throughout the night. “We had three people from our neighbourhood hospitalised over the weekend for shrapnel wounds,” said Marwa, who asked that her name be changed.
“We’re really tired. It’s not safe. We have no money. This time no one is leaving. We can’t afford it, and it’s too dangerous.” Battles on Sunday intensified in the southwestern part of the city as pro-government forces advanced along the coast towards the port, military officials told AFP. Yemenis across the city have reported seeing snipers stationed on rooftops and rebels with tanks firing artillery in Hodeida.
Read more: Yemen pro-govt forces say main rebel Hodeida roads seized
Saudi Arabia and its allies first launched an offensive to take Hodeida in June, sparking an exodus from the densely populated city. The operation was temporarily suspended amid UN efforts to hold peace talks, which failed to materialise. The United Nations is now pushing for talks by the end of the year.
Yemen’s foreign minister said on Sunday that his government, which is recognised by the UN, still backed the peace talks. “The government is committed to supporting the UN special envoy’s efforts… to hold a round of talks by the end of this year,” Khalid al-Yamani was quoted as saying by the state-run Saba news agency.
The Red Sea port city has been in the grip of Yemen’s Iran-backed Huthi rebels since 2014.
The city’s docks, while under blockade, were not yet impacted by the fighting, according to Yahya Sharafeddine, deputy director of Hodeida port. Hodeida is a vital lifeline for Yemenis across the war-torn country, as the majority of imports and humanitarian aid enter through its port.
The UN World Food Programme said its silos remain intact “despite having been targeted by more than 50 shells in recent days”. “We have apparently not lost any of our stock of more than 50,000 tonnes of wheat — enough to feed more than 3.5 million people,” WFP spokesman Herve Verhoosel said in a statement.
Read more: Coalition says to open humanitarian corridors from Yemen’s Hodeida
The silos are now under the control of the coalition, the agency said without detailing when it took over the facilities. WFP aims to increase its operations to reach up to 14 million people at risk at famine, up from eight million Yemenis who currently receive food or food vouchers monthly.
Hodeida port has been blockaded by the Saudi-led alliance since November 2017 over what the coalition says is arms smuggling from Iran to the Huthis. Tehran denies the charge. In the first defection from the capital Sanaa, where the rebels run a parallel government not recognised by the UN, Huthi minister Abdul Salam Ali Jaber on Sunday announced he had deserted the insurgency.
Hundreds Dead
More than 400 combatants have been killed in 10 days of clashes in Hodeida. Medics on Sunday said at least 61 fighters had been killed over the course of 24 hours, with dozens of wounded taken to hospitals outside the city. In 2014, the Huthis overran Sanaa and swept though much of the rest of the country, triggering the Saudi-led intervention the following year.
Saudi Arabia and its allies first launched an offensive to take Hodeida in June, sparking an exodus from the densely populated city.
The rebels have since been driven out of virtually all of the south and much of the Red Sea coast, with the exception of Hodeida. Both parties in the Yemen conflict stand accused of acts that could amount to war crimes.
Read more: Yemen troops advance deeper into rebel-held Hodeida
The Saudi-led coalition has been blacklisted by the United Nations for the maiming and killing of children, including an attack that killed at least 26 children south of Hodeida. The United States on Saturday said it halted a controversial refuelling arrangement for coalition aircraft engaged in Yemen.
The World Health Organization estimates nearly 10,000 people have been killed in the war since 2015, while rights groups believe the toll may be five times as high.
© Agence France-Presse