Heavy clashes near Yemen’s Hodeidah as UN seeks ceasefire

ADEN: Clashes between troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition and the Ansar Allah fighters intensified near Yemen’s Hodeidah over the weekend as the United Nations tries to negotiate a ceasefire to avert a possible assault on the main port city, military sources said. A military attack or siege on the Ansar Allah-held western city, long a target in the war, could cost up to 250,000 lives, a senior UN humanitarian official has warned. The Red Sea port is a lifeline for eight million Yemenis, handling most of the country’s commercial imports and aid supplies.

Heavy fighting erupted on Friday and Saturday in Al Durayhmi, a rural area where Emirati-led troops are now 10 km south of Hodeidah, and in Bayt al Faqih, 35 km from the city, local military sources said. Coalition warplanes and warships launched strikes targeting Ansar Allah, they added. A spokesman for the Western-backed alliance of mostly Gulf states did not immediately respond to a request for comment. UN Yemen mediator Martin Griffiths has been holding talks with Ansar Allah to hand over control of the port to the United Nations, Yemeni political sources have said.

A broader UN peace plan calls on Ansar Allah to give up their missiles in return for an end to a coalition bombing campaign and a transitional governance deal, according to a draft document and sources. Three civilians were killed in the south of Saudi Arabia from a missile launched from Yemen, state media reported on Saturday night, the latest in a series of ballistic missiles fired by Ansar Allah into the kingdom. Riyadh says Ansar Allah uses Hodeidah to smuggle arms into Yemen. — Reuters