Cairo: Dozens of Iran-allied Al Houthi militiamen were killed in fierce clashes with the Yemeni government forces near the port city of Hodeida, military sources said Thursday.
The fighting south of the Red Sea city raged for more than 10 hours during which different types of weapons were used, the sources added.
Warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition fighting Al Houthis also bombed militia targets.
The battles were fought west of the city’s airport, which the government retook months ago as part of a major offensive aimed at expelling Al Houthis from Hodeida in west Yemen.
Clashes, meanwhile, erupted between pro-government forces, known as Giants Brigades, and Al Houthi miliamen east of Hodeida.
The fighting broke out after the rebels attempted to reopen a main supply route linking Hodeida to the capital Sana’a being under Al Houthis’ control, the Giants Brigades’ media centre reported.
During the fight, coalition jets destroyed a number of rebel positions in the area.
“Al Houthis’ defeat is inevitable and imminent,” governor of Hodeida Al Hassan Al Taher said. He urged Hodeida locals, fighting on the side of the extremists to “return to the right path” and side with the government forces. Hodeida is strategically important because of its harbour, which is a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, as most of the commercial imports and relief supplies enter through it to the country.
The coalition accuses Al Houthis of taking advantage of their control of the port to obtain weapons from their Iranian patrons as well as confiscate aid intended for Yemenis in order to sustain their war efforts.
In recent weeks, government forces, supported by the coalition’s air power, have intensified their bombardment of Al Houthi rebels in and around Hodeida, which has been under the militants’ control since October 2014.
The coalition has sent reinforcements to Yemen’s west coast ahead of a fresh assault on Hodeida, AP reported, citing Yemeni officials.
They said that the reinforcements arrived Wednesday in tanks and armoured vehicles provided by the UAE, a key member of the coalition.
UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths has been trying to bring the country’s warring sides to negotiations in order to revive a long-stalled peace process.
The British diplomat has disclosed that he plans a new round of peace talks in Europe before the end of the year.
He said in remarks to Al Arabiya that the planned talks could be held in Geneva or Vienna next month.
Indirect talks, brokered by the UN in Geneva, collapsed last month after rebels failed to show up.
