[ad_1]
Copyright of the image
AFP
Pro-Government forces have made limited progress on the outskirts of Hudaydah
The battle for the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah has intensified, while government forces backed by Saudi-led coalition airstrikes are advancing on rebel positions.
More than 150 people have reportedly been killed since troops and militia stepped up their ground attack in the suburbs last Thursday.
The UN and charities say the fighting is also endangering medical facilities and hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Hudaydah Harbor is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis threatened with famine.
Up to 80% of the humanitarian supplies, fuel and commercial goods they depend on are routed through the facility, and UN officials have warned that the toll in human lives could to be catastrophic if it was damaged, destroyed or blocked.
Multimedia playback is not supported on your device
Yemen was devastated by a conflict that intensified in 2015, when Arab states intervened after the rebel Houthi movement took control of much of the western part of the country. forced President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi to flee abroad.
According to the UN, at least 6,660 civilians were killed and 10,560 injured. The fighting and the partial blockade of the coalition also left 22 million people in need of humanitarian aid, created the world's greatest food security emergency and led to a cholera outbreak that affected 1.1 million people. people.
The Hudaydah offensive, led by the United Arab Emirates, began in June.
Progovernment soldiers and militiamen quickly advanced rapidly, seizing the southern suburbs and the city's airport. But they did not enter the city center, where rebel fighters set up sniper positions, dug trenches in the streets and laid antipersonnel mines.
The escalation of fighting last week came after the United States – which provided logistical and intelligence support to the coalition, as well as the United Kingdom and France – called for the cessation of hostilities and at the opening of peace talks by the end of November.
Two hundred air strikes were reported Saturday in the Hudaydah region and aid workers reported intense clashes around the airport, east of the city and near a university. in the west.
On Wednesday, Save the Children said that a health facility backed in Hudaydah had been attackeddamaging a pharmacy providing desperately needed drugs.
Artillery shells have also hit residential areas and temporary roadblocks have prevented people from going out or entering the city overnight, thus imprisoning them in an active zone of conflict, the report said. newspaper.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) warned Tuesday that fighting was "dangerously close" to Al-Thawra hospital in south Hudaydah, putting the lives of 59 children at risk, of which 25 in intensive care.
"Medical staff and hospital patients have confirmed that they have heard heavy shelling and gunfire, and access from and to the hospital, the only operational facility in the area, is now at risk." said Executive Director Henrietta Fore.
Multimedia playback is not supported on your device
"Children in particular can not afford Al-Thawra to be involved in the fighting, Hudaydah and neighboring governorates make up 40 percent of the country's 400,000 children who suffer from severe acute malnutrition. 39, hospital for urgent care, "she added.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has also expressed concern over the fighting near Al-Thawra hospital and called on all parties to respect international humanitarian law and to spare civilians and civilians. civilian infrastructure.
Earlier, unconfirmed reports that Houthi fighters were stationed in or near medical centers apparently tried to avoid coalition air and artillery strikes.
Copyright of the image
Reuters
In Yemen, nearly 80% of aid supplies, fuel and commercial goods arrive at Hudaydah port
A resident told The Guardian that on Tuesday rebels raided the hospital on May 22, just north of the main road to the capital, Sanaa, and set up sniper positions on his roof.
The Houthi-led human rights ministry has also accused the coalition of targeting grain silos in Hudaydah, where tens of thousands of tons of wheat and flour are stored, as well as local roads, bridges, factories and markets.
The coalition declared that it did not intend to seize the city of Hudaydah or the port, but that its forces might attempt to encircle and impose them. a seat before the end of the month, when UN special envoy Martin Griffiths hopes the peace talks will resume.
The coalition accused the Houthis of using Hudaydah to smuggle weapons from their ally, Iran. Iran and the rebels have denied it.
[ad_2]
Source link
