MOKHA: Pro-government forces in Yemen are preparing to surround a key Red Sea port in a bid to force Huthi rebels to surrender it without a fight, military sources said on Wednesday.At least 60 fighters were killed in the latest clashes and air strikes, according to medical sources. Loyalist fighters backed by Saudi and Emirati forces are sending reinforcements ahead of a "new operation" to enter Hodeida city and seize its port, a commander from one of the forces said.Hodeida port is the main conduit for humanitarian aid into Yemen, where years of war have left some 22 million people in need of food aid. Colonel Sadiq Duwaid, spokesman for the "National Resistance", one of three main forces taking part in the operation, said it was "being bolstered by new forces... that will take part in retaking Hodeida"."First, we will cut off supply lines, especially between (rebel-held capital) Sanaa and Hodeida, then we will place the Huthis under siege and bring them down, perhaps without a fight," he said.Clashes broke out east of the port city on Wednesday while the Saudi-led coalition carried out numerous air strikes on rebel positions, Yemeni military sources said. Seven pro-government fighters were killed and 14 wounded, according to medical sources in Hodeida province, while at least 53 rebels also died.The deadly clashes come a day after an AFP reporter saw a large military convoy heading towards Hodeida from Mokha, 180-km to the south. Hodeida lies 230-km from Sanaa, which the Huthis seized in 2014.This prompted a Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen the following year, aimed at propping up the internationally-recognised government of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.The coalition accuses the rebels of using Hodeida as a launchpad for attacks on shipping in the Red Sea and for smuggling in rockets. The Iran-backed insurgents have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
05-31-2018, 02:34 PM
Yemen forces plan siege of key rebel-held port
العرض الشجري