Sana’a: The UN envoy for Yemen arrived in the militia-held capital Sana’a on Saturday for talks on the key aid port of Hodeida where the Iran-backed Al Houthis are battling a regional coalition.
Martin Griffiths is expected to propose to Al Houthi leaders that they cede control of the Red Sea port to a UN-supervised committee to avoid further fighting with advancing government troops which are backed by an Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia.
He did not speak to reporters upon arriving at Sana’a international airport.
More than 70 per cent of Yemeni imports pass through Hodeida’s docks and the fighting has raised UN fears of humanitarian catastrophe in a country already teetering on the brink of famine. The Al Houthis import arms and ammunition from Iran through the port.
The Yemeni government and it allies launched their offensive on Wednesday.
The Al Houthis have controlled the Hodeida region with its population of some 600,000 people since 2014.
Earlier this year, the Saudi-led coalition imposed a near-total blockade on the city’s port as it was being used as a conduit for arms smuggling to the militia by Iran.
