Will Saudi-led offensive lead to 'complete victory' for Yemen govt?

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The Yemeni government on Wednesday vowed to liberate the strategic port city of Hodeidah from the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, describing the Saudi-led offensive that began on the same day as “the beginning of a complete victory,” even as coalition partner the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported the death four of its soldiers in the fighting.

“The liberation of the port of Hodeidah is a turning point in our struggle to take back Yemen from the militias that hijacked it to carry out foreign agendas. The operation to liberate the port represents the beginning of the fall of the Houthis,” the Yemeni government said in a statement emailed to CGTN Digital through the Saudi Ministry of Information late on Wednesday.

“It will secure navigation in the Bab Al Mandab strait and eliminate the influence of Iran, which has long flooded Yemen with weapons to shed Yemeni blood,” the statement added.

According to Yemeni officials, approximately 2,000 coalition troops entered Hodeidah after crossing from a UAE naval base in Eritrea across the narrow stretch of Red Sea.

The rebels however claimed that their fighters foiled a sea landing by the coalition forces close to the port city, Iran’s Press TV reported. “The Saudi coalition has not advanced at all in Hodeidah,” Press TV quoted Houthi official Dayfallah al Shami as telling Lebanon's Al Mayadeen TV.

The Saudi-led Arab coalition accuses the Houthis of using the port to secure Iranian arms, notably ballistic missiles the militants have increasingly fired into Saudi territory. The allegations have been rejected by Iran and Houthis.

For Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, the enduring Houthi control of the Red Sea port city that serves as the entry point for 70 percent of Yemen’s imports is an unacceptable threat to Red Sea navigation.

The coalition has been fighting the Shiite Houthi rebels since March 2015 to support the internationally-recognized government led by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Four UAE soldiers killed

Yemeni pro-government fighters arrive in Al Durayhimi district, about nine kilometers south of Hodeidah International Airport, June 13, 2018. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, the UAE armed forces confirmed that four of its soldiers were killed in Yemen, the country’s state news agency WAM reported. However the report did not mention the time and location of the incident in which the soldiers were killed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Yemeni forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition began an assault on the port city by pressing toward Hodeidah airport, south of the city. By Wednesday night, the offensive remained on the outskirts of the rebel-held airport.

WAM confirmed that the operation was ongoing "with the participation and the support, through land and sea and air, of the Emirati armed forces." It added that the attacking forces managed to "liberate areas... in the surroundings of the airport" and captured and killed "dozens of Houthi" rebels.

Humanitarian concerns

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The latest offensive in Yemen has sparked international fears about the humanitarian fallout as the war-ravaged country is at the brink of famine after three years of war.

AFP reported that the UN Security Council will meet on Thursday for urgent talks on the offensive, diplomats said, after a request from Britain. The closed-door meeting will be the second this week on the Yemen crisis.

The request came after the UN envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, said he was still holding negotiations on keeping the key port open to aid deliveries. "We are in constant contact with all the parties involved to negotiate arrangements for Hodeidah that would address political, humanitarian, security concerns of all concerned parties," he said.

The European Union's foreign policy chief warned of the "devastating" impact the assault would have. "The latest developments will only lead to further escalation and instability in Yemen," Federica Mogherini said in a statement.

Yemenis inspect the damage caused by a Saudi-led air strike on a cholera treatment center supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in the Abs region of Yemen, June 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

Yemen assures 'national duty'

The coalition insisted its humanitarian aid response would go in parallel with military operations. Two Saudi and UAE aid ships were in the waters off Hodeidah, coalition spokesman Turki al Maliki told Saudi state media. The two countries also said they would operate a dedicated shipping lane to Hodeidah from Abu Dhabi and the southern Saudi city of Jizan to deliver food and medical supplies.

The Yemeni government also assured that it will take necessary measures to ease the misery of people living in Hodeidah and surrounding region.

Workers unload wheat assistance provided by UNICEF from a cargo ship in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, a key entry point for United Nations aid to war-torn Yemen, January 27, 2018. /VCG Photo

“The legitimate government will carry out its national duty towards the people of Hodeidah with the support of the [Saudi-led] Arab coalition, after the full liberation of the port. The government and the coalition will work in alleviating their suffering and restoring normal life to all provinces after driving out the Houthis,” the Yemeni government said in a statement.

“The Yemeni government will work in its full capacity to restore normal life to Hodeidah where the militias have destroyed infrastructure and public facilities by turning them into military barracks for their own destructive purposes. Even schools, hospitals and government facilities were looted and destroyed,” it added.

(Cover Photo: Yemeni pro-government forces flash the victory gesture as they arrive in Al Durayhimi district, about nine kilometers south of Hodeidah International Airport, June 13, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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