Saudi Arabia and its allies yesterday said that they are committed to de-escalating hostilities in Yemen, only days after launching a renewed offensive on a port crucial for humanitarian aid.
“The coalition is committed to de-escalating hostilities in Yemen and is strongly supportive of the UN envoy’s political process,” a source in the Saudi-led coalition said on condition of anonymity.
Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict in 2015, aiming to bolster the standing of Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as he fought an insurgency by the Shiite Houthis from northern Yemen.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Saudi-led alliance on Thursday restarted its campaign to capture Hodeida, the rebel-held Red Sea city that is home to a strategic port. It had suspended the offensive ahead of UN efforts to hold peace talks in Geneva, Switzerland, that eventually collapsed in September.
UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths now hopes to schedule talks between the government and the Houthis this month.
Coalition warplanes carried out dozens of air strikes on Sunday to support pro-government forces in fighting that appears to be edging further into Hodeida, approaching the city’s main university.
Dozens of rebels and soldiers were killed in battles and the raids, sources in hospitals across the areas said.
The source in the Saudi-led coalition said the current clashes were not “offensive operations,” adding that the alliance was “committed to keeping the Hodeida port open.”
“If the Houthis fail to show up for peace talks again, this might lead [us] to restart the offensive operation in Hodeida,” the source said. “The humanitarian situation in Yemen is unacceptable. We are committed to ending the conflict as soon as possible.”
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