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Yemeni government forces have penetrated further into the strategic port city of Hodeida, seizing its main hospital on Saturday during violent clashes, while their supporters in the Saudi-led coalition put a brave face on the end of support American refueling.
A loyalist official said the mortar shells were "falling like rain" on the streets as troops repulsed the mines laid by rebels and snipers to take control of the city's main hospital, which counts about 600,000 inhabitants.
The rebels have strongly resisted the government's progress towards the city's vital docks, the gateway for 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and almost all UN-supervised humanitarian aid.
The suspension of US aid for refueling the coalition aircraft comes as Washington's support for the war effort is subjected to scrutiny after the international outrage over the murder of the United States. journalist Jamal Khashoggi last month at the consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul.
The bitter war led by the Saudis in Yemen has provoked growing international unrest after the high-profile coalition air strikes that killed many civilians, many of them children.
The intensification of the coalition-led push in Hodeida, which claimed the lives of at least 382 fighters this month, comes despite warnings from a humanitarian agency regarding a humanitarian disaster in the case of 39, a long battle for the city.
According to figures from UN agencies, some 14 million Yemenis are at risk of starvation and many others depend on international aid. It is therefore vital that the port of Hodeida remains open and intact.
Yemeni officials said Saturday that pro-government forces captured the hospital on May 22.
Earlier, Amnesty International accused the Huthis of "deliberate militarization" of the facility after placing snipers on its roof.
Two days after Loyalist troops entered Hodeida's residential neighborhoods for the first time, fierce fighting took place in the east of the city, as pro-government forces backed by air strikes and helicopters sought refuge. sink deeper into the city.
"The battles here are turning into street fighting," said a loyalist official, adding that pro-government forces had advanced about a kilometer along a major road leading to the city on Saturday.
Lubna, a resident of Hodeida, who asked that her full name not be used for fear of repercussions, said that "the noise of Apache helicopters, artillery and artillery fire" was incessant .
Huthi forces are using artillery to repress Loyalist forces advancing, sometimes firing from residential areas, she said, fearing that this "only means civilians pay the highest price."
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Saturday expressed outrage at the "inconceivable toll" of fighting on an already "deeply frightened and hungry" population.
Bachelet urged the coalition, the Huthis "and all those who provide arms to the warring parties to take immediate action to end the suffering of civilians in Yemen".
– "The worst period for children" –
Save the Children's field coordinator, Mariam Aldogani, spoke of the coalition's intense airstrikes.
"In the last 30 minutes, there have been more than 15 air strikes … it's the worst time for the children of Hodeida," she said.
In a gesture that seems to save face, Saudi Arabia wanted to project the decision to end the air refueling as his own and not that of Washington.
The Pentagon had provided refueling capabilities to about 20 percent of coalition aircraft making sorties over Yemen.
Media controlled by Saudi Arabia suggested that the coalition was able to fill the gap.
Saudi television channel Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath reported that the kingdom has 23 aircraft for refueling operations in Yemen, while the United Arab Emirates has six.
According to analysts, the US decision would limit the coalition's ability to conduct bombing missions.
Andreas Krieg, a professor at the School of Security Studies at King & # 39; s College London, said the move was "important," with refueling being Washington's most important operational role in the war.
But the loyalist commander, Colonel Sadiq Duwaid, said the decision "would not affect" the coalition's attack on Hodeida, which would continue "until the Houthi militia surrender."
– & # 39; Only empty conversations –
The intensification of the battle for Hodeida comes despite Pentagon leader James Mattis' call last month for a ceasefire and negotiations between the warring parties of Yemen within 30 days. days.
The United Nations has since postponed this deadline at the end of the year.
In a column published by the Washington Post on Friday, the chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Rebel Revolution, Mohammed Ali al-Huthi, said that the growing offensive in Hodeida had shown that the ceasefire appeal -fire at Mattis was "only a meaningless speech".
"Recent statements are trying to mislead the world … The United States has the power to end the conflict – but they have decided to protect a corrupt ally," Huthi said.
The article insulted Yemeni government officials, who accused the Post of providing a platform for a "war criminal".
The Huthis control Hodeida since 2014, when they invaded the capital, Sanaa, and swept a large part of the country, triggering the intervention of Saudi Arabia the following year.
The rebels have since been hunted from virtually the entire south and much of the Red Sea coast.
At least 110 airstrikes were carried out in Hodeida, Saada, in the huthi fortress of northern Yemen, and in Sana'a between October 31 and November 6, the UN Human Rights Office announced on Saturday. United.
A total of 17,640 civilians have been killed in Yemen since March 2015, including 10,852 in the majority, as a result of coalition air strikes.
burs-mah-ac / hc / del
