Yemeni Army Enters Hodeidah from Different Fronts

[The SC]

Friday, 9 November, 2018 - 09:00

Yemeni pro-government forces gather on a main road on the eastern outskirts of Hodeidah, as they continue to battle for the control of the city from Houthi rebels on November 8, 2018. Khaled Ziad / AFP
Hodeidah - Asharq Al-Awsat

Yemeni forces have advanced inside the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah after tightening the noose on Iran-backed Houthi insurgents from almost all fronts.

Military sources said Thursday that the army has avoided urban warfare in order not to cause civilian casualties.

Medical sources also said that at least 100 Houthis have been killed in the fighting and in Saudi-led Arab Coalition airstrikes.

The Yemeni army’s official website said the military liberated on Thursday new sites in Hodeidah amid intense fighting.

It quoted Giants Brigade official Ahmed al-Juhaili as saying that that Yemeni forces have taken control of the passports building after heavy clashes with the insurgents.

He said Houthi fighters have escaped towards the city center and have hidden among civilians after storming their houses and placing snipers on rooftops.

The fighting to regain control of the port city is heading in the right direction after the army advanced through several fronts, tightening the grip on most entrances to the city except for the northern passage known as the Sham Road, military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Meanwhile, Amnesty International accused the rebels of "deliberate militarisation of hospitals" in Hodeidah.

The group said the Houthis recently stationed fighters on the roof of a hospital in the May 22 district, calling the action a "stomach-churning development.”

Amnesty's Middle East Director of Campaigns Samah Hadid said the Houthi move was in a violation of international humanitarian law.


https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1455666/yemeni-arms-enters-hodeidah-different-fronts

 

[bafxet]

I hope that life and property of the people living there is protected.

 

[The SC]

I hope that life and property of the people living there is protected.

Yes that was a priority while planning the liberation of the Hodeida key city..

 

[kingQamaR]

Shame Saudi fighter planes had missed this target. Probably, Too busy pounding these houtis and there sponsor else where.

 

[Ceylal]

Fierce battle for Hodeidah continues as Saudi Coalition attempts to capture port (map)
By
Leith Aboufadel
-
2018-11-11
4

Fighting persisted in Yemen’s strategic port city of Hodeidah on Friday, as Saudi-led coalition forces continued their offensive to wrest control of the city from the Houthis.

Footage shows heavy smoke billowing over Hodeidah and armoured vehicles of the Saudi-led coalition firing their weapons as they push through the Houthi-controlled city.



https://trends.revcontent.com/click...bc0xbADebgGeXFGP5euerscTMD0Ql6Cs=&viewed=true

According to the UN, thousands of people have been trapped in the city by the fighting and some 445,000 people from the Hodeidah Governorate have fled since the start of the large-scale operation in June.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called the ongoing conflict in Yemen the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis,” since over 22 million people – nearly three-quarters of the population – require some form of humanitarian assistance.

The UN has also stated that over 13 million people in Yemen are at risk of dying from starvation in what could become the worst famine the world has witnessed in a century.

The real story is the Sauds and their coalition and there billion of $ have yet to penetrate Hodeida proper or occupying it as the the Thread posted by SC claims..
sauds are dying by the hundreds and if the US end his refuelling campaign in the side of the Sauds..the sauds will be dying like flies..

Yemen: strong rebel resistance in the battle for Hodeida

KHALED ZIAD VIA GETTY IMAGES


Yemeni rebels are strongly resisting Hodeida, intensifying firing on Friday and attempting to cut off supply routes to slow the advance of pro-government forces that want to take over this key city in the warring West.

As the entry point for three quarters of imports and international aid in this country threatened by famine, the port city of Hodeida has been under rebel control since 2014 and forces loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, supported militarily by Saudi and Emirati allies have been trying to reclaim it since June.


For the first time Thursday, Loyalist troops, supported by Saudi air raids, entered the city where they advanced a few km from the south and east towards the port.

In response, Houthi rebels, whose leader promised his men would fight to the end, intensified their counter-attacks to slow their advance.


They "carry out intensive attacks" by firing shells at positions taken by Loyalist troops in the south of the city, according to pro-government military officials.


The rebels also said they managed to cut off their opponents' supply routes in four areas of Hodeida province, outside the city of the same name. But this has not been confirmed by pro-government officials.


The Houthis have dug trenches and laid mines on roads on the outskirts of the city, according to loyalist sources. They also positioned snipers on the roofs of buildings and behind large billboards to deal with the assault.

Slow progress

Despite rebel resistance, loyalist forces have managed to advance again, but very slowly in the east of the city, officials said.

The offensive to retake Hodeida was launched in June 2018, but was suspended in July to give UN mediation a chance. After a failure in September of talks under the auspices of the UN in Geneva for a political settlement - the first for more than two years - the coalition announced the resumption of the assault that intensified from 1 November.

Since 2015, Loyalist forces, with the help of a Saudi-led military coalition, have been trying to drive Iran-backed Houthis from the vast areas they have conquered in the north and center of the country, including the capital. Sanaa.

In nearly four years, the conflict has killed some 10,000 people and caused the UN the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

The battle of Hodeida, which has claimed the lives of some 250 combatants -197 Houthis and 53 Loyalists-since November 1, has left humanitarian organizations with serious risks to civilians and the distribution of aid to a malnourished population.



Hodeida had some 600,000 inhabitants, but some fled in recent months.

Making the "V" of victory and carrying automatic weapons and rocket launchers, pro-government units paraded Thursday aboard pick-ups after entering residential areas on roads that Houthi rebels have sometimes mined.

"Protecting civilians"

The intensification of the offensive puts at risk the efforts of the United States and the United Nations, which hopes to be able to convene talks "by the end of the year", while the negotiations in view a political solution have never led to any significant progress.

It also heightens the fears of NGOs operating locally or elsewhere in the famine-threatened country.


For the Norwegian Refugee Council, "there is a very high risk that more air and ground attacks will cut off the last road used for food, fuel and medicine supplies for some 20 million Yemenis. which depend on imports passing through Hodeida ".

The residents of Hodeida reported, according to the NGO, "incessant air raids, low-level flights of Apache helicopters and fighter planes".

Amnesty International condemned the coalition strikes and accused the Houthis of deploying their men to the roof of a hospital "full of wounded civilians" in Hodeida.

In Istanbul, a conference under the leadership of Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman called on the UN to "work seriously" to end the war in Yemen and advocated the creation of a special court to try "crimes" committed during the conflict.



Since this article is written by the AFP the french press agency, the Houthis are the rebels and the Sauds are the good guys..

Scores of Saudi-backed fighters killed after disastrous attack in Hodeidah
By
News Desk
-
2018-11-08
6

BEIRUT, LEBANON (11:00 P.M.) – Scores of Saudi-backed fighters were gunned down by the Houthi forces inside the Hodeidah province of western Yemen this week.

Led by the Yemeni Republican Guard and Southern Resistance Army, the Gulf-backed troops attempted to capture the strategic Kilo 16 area on Wednesday; however, their assault would take a disastrous turn after many of the fighters were ambushed by a large Houthi force.


https://trends.revcontent.com/click...OqF0BXPyXEJH0G32uaFOZrf6ALzTbyL0=&viewed=true

Disaster struck the Saudi-backed troops when they mistakenly entered the Kilo 16 area with a large number of fighters and very little armor to protect their advancing troops.

Many of the Saudi-backed fighters were gunned down by the Houthi personnel that were hidden in several sites around the Kilo 16 area.

Due to the graphic nature of the video, Al-Masdar will only provide a link to the video