The Saudi-led coalition forces on Wednesday launched a major military operation to recapture Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah from Shia Houthi rebels.

“The operation to recapture Al-Hudaydah city and port has begun,” Yemeni military spokesman Abdullah al-Shuabi said.

Sounds of explosions and bombing were heard in the southern outskirts of the port city by Saudi-led coalition warplanes and warships.

Al-Shuabi said government forces have captured major military sites at the city’s southern entrance.

He said scores of Houthi rebels had surrendered themselves during the first hours of the offensive.

There was no comment from the Shia Houthi group on the claim.

In a statement, the Yemeni government said it had consumed all peaceful and political means to dislodge Houthi rebels from the strategic port.

“The liberation of Al-Hudaydah port is a turning point in our struggle to recapture Yemen from the militias that hijacked it to serve foreign agendas,” it said in the statement cited by the official Saba news agency.

“The liberation of the port is the start of the fall of the Houthi militia and will secure marine shipping in Bab al-Mandab strait and cut off the hands of Iran, which has long drowned Yemen in weapons that shed precious Yemeni blood,” it added.

Al-Hudaydah port is a vital supply line through which as much as 80 percent of humanitarian aid to war-ravaged Yemen goes through.

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The ongoing violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of “the worst humanitarian disasters in modern times”. </s> Alwaght- Yemeni Ansarullah resistance movement capture a city near Saudi border north of the country on Monday.

The victory came after Yemeni forces attacked Saudi mercenaries in the town of Al-Kadhah in the Hudaydah Governorate.

The Saudi-led coalition forces also entered the battle that lasted hours on Sunday morning south of the Kingdom’s Jizan Region.

In addition to seizing Al-Kadhah, the resistance forces also advanced to the al-Maafir District after taking full control of the al-Kadhah Market.

This is while Saudi forces are attacking the Mocha Port area of southwest Yemen. Yemeni army and resistance forces have taken the opportunity to expel the remaining Saudi mercenaries from the northwestern part of the country.

In another development, Saudi regime declared it plans to strike the Hodeidah city in Yemen despite warnings from the UN that the attack could have dire humanitarian consequences for civilian population.

The statement issued by the Saudi-led coalition threatened that civilians in Hodeidah should "remain in their homes and avoid clashes" and that the city would be declared a military zone from 10 a.m. on Monday until further notice.

Hodeidah is the main port city in Yemen currently under the control of Yemeni army. It is considered the main entry point for food and aid cargos to the country that is under a Saudi imposed embargo.

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in the deadly campaign since March 2015 in an attempt to reinstate Yemen’s resigned president, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh.

The Saudi war has so far claimed the lives of at least 11,400 Yemenis, and taken a heavy toll on the country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. </s> DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemen's Houthis blocked a sea landing by Saudi and Emirati forces near Hodeidah port on Wednesday, holding off a Saudi-led coalition attack on the country's main port city, a Houthi official told Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV.

"The Saudi coalition has not advanced at all in Hodeidah," Dayfallah al-Shami, a member of the movement's political bureau, told the pro-Iranian al-Mayadeen. "We foiled a sea landing of Saudi and Emirati forces near the port of Hodeidah."

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. </s> Saudi-backed forces have begun an assault on the key port of Hudaydah after Houthi rebels ignored a final deadline to withdraw, reports say.

Rebel positions are being bombarded from the air and sea, according to regional media.

ALSO READ: How con man posing as Saudi royal family swindled investors billions

Aid agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if the city is attacked, with up to a quarter of a million casualties possible.

The port is the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Yemen.

More than seven million people in the war-torn country are dependent on food aid.

The Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network reported that the "liberation" of Hudaydah had begun with a large-scale ground assault supported by air and naval cover.

Avoid fake news! Subscribe to the Standard SMS service and receive factual, verified breaking news as it happens. Text the word 'NEWS' to 22840

Explosions were heard on the outskirts of the port city, it added.

The Yemeni government of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi said in a statement that all political means to persuade the rebels to withdraw had been exhausted.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), part of the Saudi-led coalition that backs Mr Hadi, had earlier given the Houthis a final ultimatum to withdraw or face imminent attack.

UAE Junior Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash told the BBC that the coalition had run out of patience with diplomatic efforts after a previous 48-hour deadline expired.

ALSO READ: Saudi women get first driving licences

He said the coalition wanted the UN to take control of the port but it was prepared to take military action if the Houthis refused to withdraw.

The civil war in Yemen has killed about 10,000 people over the past three years and created what the UN says is the world's worst humanitarian disaster.

A Saudi-led multinational coalition intervened in the conflict in Yemen in March 2015 as forces loyal to President Hadi battled the Houthi movement, which champions Yemen's Zaidi Shia Muslim minority </s> HODEIDAH, Yemen – The Saudi-led coalition spokesman accused Houthi militia of being behind an attack that killed and wounded dozens of civilians in Hodeidah in Yemen on Thursday, adding the coalition did not carry out any operations in the port city.

Earlier on Thursday, medical sources and aid agencies said an air strikes by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia on a fishing port and fish market in Hodeidah killed 26 people and wounded 50 others.

“The coalition follows a strict and transparent approach based on the rules of international law. We pursue any allegations and if there is any responsibility we will hold it transparently,” Colonel Turki al-Malki told Al Arabiya television.

“Coalition did not carry out any operations in Hodeidah today...Houthi militia are behind killing of civilians in Hodeidah on today,” he added.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Sunni Muslim allies have been fighting in Yemen with Western backing for more than three years against the Iran-aligned Houthis.

The Houthis control much of north Yemen including the capital Sanaa and drove its Saudi-backed government into exile in 2014.

The strikes come as the United Nations tries to secure a ceasefire agreement between the warring sides.

Yemen’s Houthi group said on Tuesday it was unilaterally halting attacks in the Red Sea for two weeks to support peace efforts, a few days after Saudi Arabia suspended oil exports through a strategic Red Sea channel following Houthi attacks on crude tankers on 25 July.

Hodeidah port is the main conduit for supplies to Yemen, where around 8.4 million people are believed by aid workers to be on the verge of starvation.

The Saudi-led alliance says capturing Hodeidah would cut off the main supply line of the Houthis and force the group to the negotiating table, but it has made no major gains since it launched the offensive on 12 June.

The Houthis have offered to hand over management of the port to the world body, according to the United Nations, but the coalition says the group must quit the western coast. </s> Houthi rebels have announced a ceasefire deal with the Yemeni government and withdrawal from the port city of Al-Hudaydah during UN-brokered peace talks in Sweden.

"We agreed on an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of all sides in Al-Hudaydah under a UN committee's supervision," Houthi negotiator Jamal Amer said.

He said the supervision of the city’s ports will be given to the UN.

The UN-brokered talks kicked off in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on Dec. 6 in an effort to end the 4-year military conflict in Yemen.

Talks between the two warring parties tackle the release of captives, the fight in Al-Hudaydah, Yemen’s central bank, access to humanitarian aid and the Sanaa airport.

As for the Sanaa Airport, Amer said an "initial agreement took place between the two parties on the opening of the airport… with the UN taking technical supervision of all the airports of Yemen."

"However, the other side insists that the airport remains local," he said.

There was no comment from the Yemeni government on the Houthi claim.

Yemen has remained wracked by violence since 2014, when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country, including the capital, Sanaa, and the key port city of Hudaydah.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including its health and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of the worst humanitarian disasters of modern times.

This article has been adapted from its original source. </s> Sana’a, June 16 (IANS) Yemeni forces backed by a Saudi-led coalition said on Saturday that they have liberated the airport of the main port city of Hudaydah from Houthi rebels.

The military units have begun to clear the airfield of mines and explosive devices planted by the rebels, the BBC reported citing the Army as saying.

Following the development, Houthi spokesperson Mohamed Abdel Salam said on Twitter that the withdrawal of his fighters was part of a tactical strategy and as a consequence, the mercenaries entered the airport.

He added that his fighters captured 36 soldiers loyal to the internationally-backed Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who is now in the coastal city of Aden, the government’s provisional capital.

The development took place on the fourth day of an offensive to seize the strategic city, located on the Red Sea coast with its port as one of the main entry points for essential supplies to the country, which is suffering the most pressing humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the UN.

Military and medical sources told Efe news that more than 300 personnel belonging to both the Houthis and Yemeni forces were killed in the last two days of the offensive, while more than 550 were injured.

Residents of the area said that they have heard explosions and shots since Saturday morning in the airfield to the south of the city, 10 km from the port of Hudaydah, the second largest in the country after the port of Aden.

They added that the government forces continued to forge ahead after the airport was captured in order to take control of the southern entrance of the city, where violent clashes were ongoing.

According to the residents, both sides made a safe corridor for 4,000 al-Manzar neighbourhood inhabitants after a woman and a man were killed and another 30 injured in clashes.

Since late 2014, Yemen remains immersed in a bloody civil war after Houthi rebels seized both its capital Sana’a and its northern and western regions.

The conflict intensified in March 2015 when the Saudi Arabia-led alliance intervened in Yemen. </s> The UN on Wednesday warned against military confrontation in Yemen’s Al-Hudaydah.

"I am extremely concerned about the military developments in Hudaydah. Further military escalation will have serious consequences […] and will have an impact on my efforts to resume political negotiations to reach an inclusive political settlement to the conflict in Yemen," said Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen on the situation in Hudaydah.

Calling the sides to exercise restraint, Griffiths said: "I call on the parties to engage constructively with our efforts to spare Hudaydah any military confrontation."

"We continue to use every opportunity to avoid military confrontation in Hudaydah," he added.

The Saudi-led coalition forces on Wednesday launched a major military operation to recapture Yemeni port of Al-Hudaydah from Shia Houthi rebels.

Al-Hudaydah port is a vital supply line of humanitarian aid to Yemen.

Impoverished Yemen has been wracked by violence since 2014, when the Shia Houthi group overran much of the country, including capital Sanaa.

The conflict escalated in 2015 when Saudi Arabia and its Sunni-Arab allies -- who accuse the Houthis of serving as Iranian proxies -- launched a massive air campaign in Yemen aimed at rolling back Houthi gains.

The ongoing violence has devastated Yemen’s infrastructure, including water and sanitation systems, prompting the UN to describe the situation as one of “the worst humanitarian disasters in modern times”. </s> Saudi-led forces leading an assault on Yemen's rebel-held port city of Hodeida have seized control of its international airport.

Fierce fighting continued around what is the main gateway for food and aid supplies into Yemen, which is on the brink of famine.

The media office of the pro-alliance Yemeni military said on Twitter: "Army forces backed by the resistance and the Arab alliance freed Hodeida international airport from the grip of the Houthi militia."

Fighting in the airport area has led to the closure of the northern entrance of Hodeida, which leads to Sanaa, residents said.

Image: Yemeni pro-government forces gather at the south of Hodeida airport

This has blocked a key exit out of the city and made it more difficult to transport goods from the port.

Advertisement

Aly Omar, whose son was wounded in an airstrike, said he and his family spent three days trapped in the Manzar neighbourhood next to the airport as fighting raged around them.

He said: "We didn't have any food, or drink or anything, not even water.

"I call on the United Nations and the Red Cross to open a way for us to get out of the situation we're in. Our kids, women and elderly are stuck."

Image: The city is a crucial entry point for aid

The number of dead rose to 280 by the fourth day of the campaign which is aiming to drive out the Iranian-backed Shia rebels, known as Houthis, from the Red Sea port of Hodeida.

The Saudi-led coalition began its assault on Wednesday and Emirati forces are leading ground forces combined with their own troops, irregular militiamen and soldiers backing Yemen's exiled government.

Saudi Arabia has provided air support with targeting guidance and refuelling is being supplied by the US.

Image: Yemenis visit the graves of relatives at a cemetery in Sanaa on 15 June

Aid groups and the United Nations cautioned the coalition from launching the assault amid fears that a drawn-out conflict could force a shutdown of Hodeida's port at a time when a halt in aid risks tipping millions into starvation.

About 70% of Yemen's food enters the country through the port, as well as the bulk of humanitarian aid and fuel supplies.

Some two-thirds of the country's population of 27 million rely on aid and 8.4 million are already at risk of starvation.

The coalition says it had no choice but to launch the assault as the port provided millions of dollars for the Houthis through customs controls.

Saudis near victory in battle for key Yemeni port

They also say the Houthis have been using the port to smuggle weapons through, although UN experts have said this is "unlikely" as incoming ships require UN permission and are randomly searched.

The UN and Western governments say Iran has supplied the Houthis with weapons ranging from assault rifles to the ballistic missiles they have fired deep into Saudi Arabia, including at the capital, Riyadh.

The coalition has blocked most ports and allowed supplies into Hodeida in co-ordination with the UN.

The air campaign and fighting have disrupted other supply lines which has triggered an economic crisis that makes food too expensive for many to afford.

Aid agencies and the UN evacuated international staff from the city before the offensive began.

Injured people who are able to flee have been driving onto Aden, about 195 miles away, after being treated at a hospital in Mocha on the way, according to the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

Battle for key port in Yemen begins amid warnings from aid agencies

Thousands remain trapped in the city and around the airport because of the fighting.

Relief worker Saber Wasel said: "Families are trapped inside and it is difficult leaving as they are coming under airstrikes and bombardment by both parties of the war.

"It was a hard night for citizens because of the intensity of the strikes and gunfire."

The coalition has implemented an air, sea and land embargo on Yemen since 2015.

The airstrikes and Houthi bombardment have left more than 10,000 people dead and two million displaced along with devastation of the country's infrastructure.

Many hospitals and health centres have been destroyed which has created a cholera epidemic.
Saudi-led coalition forces begin an operation to take control of the Yemeni port city of Al Hudaydah, which has been held by the Houthis since 2015.