Fears of a humanitarian crisis in Yemen’s main port city Hudaida grew as fighting spilled into residential districts Wednesday after Arab coalition forces seized the airport from the Iran-aligned Houthis.
Residents said coalition aircraft were bombing Houthi positions on roads leading to the airport as the group dug in against an onslaught by the Arab alliance to take the city, the Houthis’ main port and the lifeline for millions of Yemenis.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told Al Arabiya television the alliance captured the airport Wednesday and was now destroying nearby Houthi fortifications. He accused the group of placing tanks inside residential areas.
“We have been stuck in our houses for five days ... due to the fighting. Our food supplies will run out within a week and there is no water,” Fatima, 56, said.
The escalation in fighting has wounded civilians, forced many to flee their homes and hampered humanitarian agencies, who are concerned about a potential cholera outbreak in the densely inhabited city as battles cut off water supplies. “The streets are almost empty, deserted,” a Hudaida resident said, adding that most were heading for Sanaa, Raymah and Wusab, in Houthi-controlled areas inland. Kristine Beckerle, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch, said residents were worried about the dangers of land mines placed on roads.U.N. officials estimate in a worst-case scenario the fighting could cost up to 250,000 lives, especially if a cholera epidemic occurs in the widely impoverished region. “Hudaida port is operating as normal and the movement of ships is normal,” Malki said. “We have humanitarian and development plans for when we liberate the city.”
In a televised address, Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said fighting would not cease even if the coalition regained the whole country. “The western coast will be a swamp that drowns and finishes the forces of the invaders and the aggressors.”
Houthi authorities set up loudspeakers on Hudaida’s main streets playing chants and excerpts of speeches, another resident said. “The streets have been turned into a big audio stage to boost their fighters’ morale.”
Reuters
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