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Saturday, 16 June, 2018 - 05:45
Yemeni pro-government forces gather at the south of Hodeida airport on June 15, 2018. AFP
Arab Coalition forces have seized control of the airport in Yemen's Hodeidah only days after launching the operation to liberate the port city from Iran-backed Houthi insurgents, the media office of the Yemeni military said on Saturday.
"Army forces backed by the resistance and the Arab alliance freed Hodeidah international airport from the grip of the Houthi militia," the media office said on Twitter on Saturday.
It said technical teams were now de-mining the area.
With the support of the Arab Coalition, Joint Yemeni Resistance forces had deployed Friday in parts of the Hodeidah Airport, amid fierce battles with Houthis.
Field sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Joint forces were first able to enter the western parts of the airport, supported by intense airstrikes and artillery attacks.
Meanwhile, Houthi militias erected checkpoints at the eastern and northern entrances of the city to kill escaping rebels and obstruct the displacement of civilians.
Also on Friday, Yemeni forces hit fortified militia positions on the outskirts of Hodeidah and other fronts stretching along the eastern line of the coast all the way to Zabid, al-Husseiniya and Beit al-Fakih.
As the defenses of rebel fighters collapsed in the western coastline, field sources asserted that at least 150 Houthis were killed in the past hours.
Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi called on his followers late on Thursday to head to the frontlines to halt the advance of Joint Forces.
For his part, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi asserted that Yemeni forces would continue fighting until the liberation of the strategic port city of Hodeidah and all Houthi-controlled areas, including Sanaa.
In the light of international efforts to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Hodeidah, a source from the office of UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths uncovered that the diplomat is expected in Sana’a on Saturday for talks with Houthi officials.
The envoy would exert his last efforts to convince the militias to peacefully withdraw from Hodeida and hand over the strategic port to Yemeni forces.
Griffiths would also warn Houthis from any activities that could damage the city, amid reports that rebels had set a plan to booby-trap the port.
Hodeidah’s provincial official Waleed Al Qudaim told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that the local legitimate authority has proposed an urgent humanitarian plan that should be implemented in parallel with the operation to liberate Hodeidah.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1302366/coalition-forces-liberate-hodeidah-airport
Yemeni pro-government forces gather at the south of Hodeida airport on June 15, 2018. AFP
Arab Coalition forces have seized control of the airport in Yemen's Hodeidah only days after launching the operation to liberate the port city from Iran-backed Houthi insurgents, the media office of the Yemeni military said on Saturday.
"Army forces backed by the resistance and the Arab alliance freed Hodeidah international airport from the grip of the Houthi militia," the media office said on Twitter on Saturday.
It said technical teams were now de-mining the area.
With the support of the Arab Coalition, Joint Yemeni Resistance forces had deployed Friday in parts of the Hodeidah Airport, amid fierce battles with Houthis.
Field sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that the Joint forces were first able to enter the western parts of the airport, supported by intense airstrikes and artillery attacks.
Meanwhile, Houthi militias erected checkpoints at the eastern and northern entrances of the city to kill escaping rebels and obstruct the displacement of civilians.
Also on Friday, Yemeni forces hit fortified militia positions on the outskirts of Hodeidah and other fronts stretching along the eastern line of the coast all the way to Zabid, al-Husseiniya and Beit al-Fakih.
As the defenses of rebel fighters collapsed in the western coastline, field sources asserted that at least 150 Houthis were killed in the past hours.
Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi called on his followers late on Thursday to head to the frontlines to halt the advance of Joint Forces.
For his part, Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi asserted that Yemeni forces would continue fighting until the liberation of the strategic port city of Hodeidah and all Houthi-controlled areas, including Sanaa.
In the light of international efforts to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Hodeidah, a source from the office of UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths uncovered that the diplomat is expected in Sana’a on Saturday for talks with Houthi officials.
The envoy would exert his last efforts to convince the militias to peacefully withdraw from Hodeida and hand over the strategic port to Yemeni forces.
Griffiths would also warn Houthis from any activities that could damage the city, amid reports that rebels had set a plan to booby-trap the port.
Hodeidah’s provincial official Waleed Al Qudaim told Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that the local legitimate authority has proposed an urgent humanitarian plan that should be implemented in parallel with the operation to liberate Hodeidah.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1302366/coalition-forces-liberate-hodeidah-airport
