Battle to liberate Yemen’s main port of Hodeidah officially launched

Hodeidah, 13 Jun 2018 [Fik/News Sources]: The Yemeni army and resistance forces, aided by the Arab coalition, officially launched the battle to liberate the city and port of Hodeidah, west of Yemen, on Wednesday at dawn after the Houthis rejected peaceful solutions.

A military source said a large-scale ground operation supported by the Arab coalition’s aerial and naval cover began to march towards Hodeidah in more than one axis.

Local sources said violent explosions were heard in the city’s suburbs. Later in the morning, the army announced it had gained control of the suburb of Nekhailah in southern Hodeidah.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni government slammed the Houthis and voiced the importance of liberating Hodeidah.

“(We) have exhausted all peaceful and political solutions to get the Houthi militias out from the Port of Hodeidah,” it said in a statement.

“Liberating the port represents the beginning of the Houthis’ collapse. It will secure navigation in Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and it will cut off Iran’s hands that have drowned Yemen with weapons that are used to shed the Yemenis’ blood,” it added.

The government reiterated that it will carry out its national duty towards the people of Hodeidah, with the coalition’s support, after the port is completely liberated and will work to mitigate their suffering and restore life to normal in all districts in the governorate after it’s purged from the Houthis.

It also promised the Yemeni people that it will carry the good news “of liberating Hodeidah soon.”

The Yemeni army had in the past few hours pushed its military reinforcements to Hodeidah’s outskirts and deployed on the confrontation fronts to launch its decisive battle to liberate the city.

Military sources said the military tactic to liberate the city took into account shielding civilians and infrastructure during the battles.

Hodeidah, Yemen’s biggest Red Sea port and the only one under Houthi control, serves as the lifeline for the majority of Yemen’s population.