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Govt troops push in Yemeni port stalls as fighters plant mines

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SANAA: A push by Yemeni loyalists to recapture Ansar Alalh-held Hodeida has stalled, according to pro-government officials on Wednesday, as local sources said the fighters had planted landmines around the city’s key port.


A relative calm was holding for a second full day on Wednesday in the Red Sea city, despite the thundering sound of jets flying overhead, with no major clashes reported.


Pro-government forces have temporarily stopped their advance into the city to allow safe passage for civilians, humanitarian staff and wounded, a military official said.


One military official said the pro-government forces will be launching major operations “in the coming days”.


“The battles will not stop, except with the liberation of Hodeida and the whole west coast,” he said.


The slowdown in fighting follows diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in the city, whose port serves as a key lifeline to the impoverished country.


Britain’s Foreign Office said on Tuesday the Saudi-led alliance fighting on the side of the government had agreed to the evacuation of up to 50 wounded fighters following a visit to Riyadh by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.


However, despite the apparent temporary lull, a spokesman for the Ansar Allah told a news conference broadcast on the rebels’ Al Masirah TV on Tuesday that they were ready for “war in the streets” of Hodeida.


The Ansar Allah fighters, who seized the Red Sea city in 2014, claimed they were mining areas across Hodeida province, airing footage late on Tuesday of what they said were landmine explosions targeting pro-government forces.


Three port employees reached by telephone said the fighters had also begun to mine entryways to the port overnight.


The Ansar Allah had planted explosives near two of the port’s gates, one that leads to Jizan Road, a main street in the city’s north, and the other near the Alsanabel flour mill company, the said.


“There is only one entrance left into the port, and that is the main gate that leads to Mina Street that trucks use,” one employee, who requested anonymity, said.


Hodeida port came under attack late on Monday for the first time since June, when government troops supported by a coalition launched an offensive to take back the city from the Ansar Allah fighters.


The port’s deputy director, Yahya Sharafeddine, said the main entrance to the docks had been hit, but it was fully functioning.


Residents in Hodeida say they now fear a siege on the city, home to some 600,000 people, with only one major exit route in still open to traffic, on the northern edge.


According to the United Nation’s office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “fighting reduced in Hodeida city on November 12” after a previous escalation in clashes and air strikes in Hodeida province in the first 10 days of the month.


Citing data collected by the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project — linked to the UN global protection clusters — OCHA said 34 people were killed among 92 civilian casualties in the first week of November in Hodeida province. — AFP


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