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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

With focus on Hodeidah, war rages on elsewhere

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With global attention on Yemen focused on a fragile truce in its main port of Hodeidah, fighting between rival forces in the country’s four-year war has surged elsewhere.


Escalating hostilities in the southwestern Al Dhalea area have disrupted the main south-to-north goods route, displaced thousands and complicated efforts to battle a cholera epidemic and feed millions on the brink of starvation.


“The clashes taking place in Al Dhalea are less visible than those in along Yemen’s west coast (where Hodeidah is) but threaten to have a similarly disastrous impact,” said Suze van Meegen of the Norwegian Refugee Council.


“It is absolutely critical that supplies coming through Aden move inland as quickly as possible, keeping commercial markets afloat and replenishing humanitarian supplies.”


The Saudi-backed coalition of pro-government forces and Ansaullah fighters agreed a ceasefire and troop withdrawal in Hodeidah in December, in the first major diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that broke out in late 2014.


That deal averted an all-out assault on the port that risked unleashing famine but, while the fragile peace is largely holding, the troop pullback has stalled and thousands of tonnes of grain — inaccessible by aid agencies until Sunday — have started to rot.


Meanwhile, in other areas, ground fighting has intensified and air strikes continue. Al Dhalea straddles the main roads between the government-controlled southern port of Aden, a major entry point for aid and commercial supplies, and the Ansarullah-controlled capital Sanaa. Heavy clashes and artillery in Al Dhalea are forcing aid, commercial traffic and civilians to divert onto long and dangerous mountain passes, reducing humanitarian access and increasing journey time and costs.


“Since November I think we are on our fourth alternative route as things (hostilities) expand,” said Frank McManus of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organisation.


Two weeks ago a bridge connecting Al Dhalea to neighbouring Ibb was blown up, severing that route. Local reports blamed the incident on Ansarullah fighters after they stormed the area, though responsibility has not been confirmed. Heavy fighting has also broken out in the last couple of months in northwestern regions Hajjah and Abbs, and Taiz in the southwest, causing deaths and displacing hundreds of thousands.


The IRC said the Al Dhalea clashes have forced it to suspend and relocate health clinics, cholera treatment, education and other services in recent weeks. Yemeni authorities have reported more than 200,000 suspected cases of cholera since January. — Reuters


Muhammad al Ghobari and Lisa Barrington


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