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Yemen: fighting returns to Hodeidah despite UN ceasefire calls Yemen: Hodeidah sees 'worst fighting yet' despite UN ceasefire calls
(about 9 hours later)
Fighting between Saudi-led coalition forces and Houthi rebels in Yemen has flared up again around the Red Sea port of Hodeidah despite UN calls for a ceasefire, Yemeni officials and witnesses have said. Vicious fighting described by residents as the worst so far has flared up in Yemen’s vital port city, Hodeidah, despite calls for a ceasefire from the UN and promises from both the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels to consider a truce.
The escalation after a recent lull began late on Monday with coalition airstrikes against the Houthis in and around the city. A lull in combat was shattered on Monday night by intense street fighting that was edging towards the city centre and at least 12 coalition airstrikes on eastern districts, locals said. The jets were met with Houthi anti-aircraft fire. “We are facing indiscriminate bombing from both sides,” said local Ibrahim Seif.
Street fighting was also under way in the centre of Hodeidah and the al-Saleh district. There were no immediate details of any casualties.
Earlier, the rebels said they had fired a ballistic missile into Saudi Arabia in response to an attempted border incursion and another airstrike, adding that they reserved the right to respond to attacks. Although the Houthis said on Monday they would stop firing rockets into neighbouring Saudi Arabia as part of peace efforts – their most significant concession in years – the declaration was followed by a retaliatory missile attack on a coalition position near the Saudi border.
The missile attack on Monday night came hours after the rebels said they would stop firing rockets into Saudi Arabia as part of peace efforts. The fresh violence is a blow to frantic diplomatic efforts by the UN’s special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, and the UK, the current security council pen holder, or lead state for drafting decisions.
The coalition has been attempting to retake Hodeidah from the rebels since the summer and its forces are three miles (5km) from the port, through which the majority of Yemen’s food, fuel and aid flows. At a meeting of the security council on Monday, the UK tabled a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the battle for Hodeidah and guarantees from both parties of safe delivery of food and medicine to Yemen’s 14 million starving people.
The renewed fighting is a blow to UN efforts to end the three-year war. Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen, announced on Friday that both sides had agreed to attend peace talks in Sweden “soon”. On Monday, the internationally backed government in Yemen said it would attend, but insisted the Houthis do so “unconditionally”. It is unclear when there will be a vote on the resolution, which faces significant opposition from Gulf states, which are fighting against the Houthis to restore Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, reportedly “threw a fit” when shown a copy of the draft by the British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, during a visit to Riyadh last week.
The US-backed, Saudi-led coalition has been fighting on the side of the government against the rebels since March 2015, in a war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed much of the country to the brink of starvation. The coalition wants to retake Hodeidah in order to clear a path to Sana’a, the rebel-held capital, the capture of which it believes will end the war.
Hodeidah is arguably the most important city in Yemen because of its port, through which 80% of the country’s commercial goods, aid and fuel flows. A full-scale offensive has been delayed several times after warnings from aid agencies that even a small amount of damage to the port’s facilities and a halt in aid deliveries would exponentially increase the suffering of a country already gripped by a malnutrition crisis and the worst cholera outbreak in modern history.
Also on Tuesday, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi pledged $500m in aid designed to ward off a declaration of famine by the UN.
Fighting within the densely populated city has killed at least 150 people in the last two weeks and led more than 445,000 to flee since the summer.
While Griffiths said last week that both sides had agreed to peace talks in Sweden “soon”, there remain many stumbling blocks before the two sides arrive at the negotiation table, and the new violence threatens to undo confidence-building measures already agreed, such as the evacuation of wounded Houthi fighters to neighbouring Oman.
Griffiths is due to make a second visit to Sana’a this week to convince the rebel leadership to attend the talks in Sweden.
Talks in Geneva in September collapsed after the Houthi delegation failed to attend after three days, citing security concerns.
YemenYemen
Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia
Middle East and North AfricaMiddle East and North Africa
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