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News ID: 59530
Publish Date : 12 November 2018 - 21:42
Yemeni Minister: Push to Seize City Defeated

Saudi Mercenaries Face Stiff Resistance in Hudaydah



ADEN (Dispatches) -- Street battles raged on Sunday in residential areas of Yemen’s main port city of Hudaydah, forcing medical staff to flee the largest hospital, as Houthi fighters and their allies tried to repel militants backed by Saudi Arabia.
Residents said they saw bodies of seven civilians killed in clashes in southern suburbs, amid use of mortar shells, anti-aircraft guns and assault rifles in the fight for the city, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis.
Medical sources at al-Thawra hospital told Reuters that several staff members and patients able to move had fled the complex. It was not immediately clear how many patients remained inside.
Hospital spokesman Khaled Attiyah told Reuters that doctors and nurses continued their work in departments such as intensive care, the burns ward and the emergency room "despite the panic”.
The United Nations and aid groups have warned that a full-scale assault on Hudaydah, an entry point for 80 percent of the country’s food imports and relief supplies, could trigger a famine in the already impoverished Arabian Peninsula state.
Saudi-backed militants and mercenaries took control on Saturday of Red Sea Mills, a main grains facility south of the port which holds about 51,000 tonnes of wheat, a UN aid group said.
Sana'a-based Yemeni Defense Minister Major General Mohamed Nasser al-Atefi said the massive Saudi push against Hudaydah on the west coast of Yemen had been defeated, with a number of Sudanese mercenaries killed or captured.  
The invaders have been pushing to enter the strategic port city since 10 days ago, trying to advance on Hudaydah's docks which are the lifeline for vital humanitarian aid to the impoverished country.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have deployed thousands of additional troops after seeing their campaign launched in June to seize Hudaydah thwarted by Houthi fighters and their allies in the Yemeni army.
On Saturday, reports suggested the invaders had seized the main hospital in the city but had seen the Jabaliyah and Matineh areas retaken by the city's protectors.
According to AFP, Hudaydah fighters have put up fierce resistance to the Saudi push towards the city's vital docks.
The recapture of Jabaliyah cut supply lines to the invaders, drawing praise from Major General al-Atefi.
"The aggressors were defeated with all their power and equipment," he said in remarks aired on al-Masirah TV as he praised "the children of Tihamah," referring to the general area in Yemen's west coast.
"The children of Tihamah proved to the Yemeni nation that they are ready to sacrifice their lives in defending the west coast. Their cooperation and solidarity with the army and the Popular Committees defeated the aggressors' advance," he said.
The Popular Committees is referred to a coalition of Houthi fighters and their allies in the Yemeni army who have been resisting the Saudi invasion since 2015.
Houthi spokesman Muhammad Abdul-Salam referred to the deaths of several Sudanese mercenaries in Hudaydah, saying they were the "victims of their government being on the payroll in a cruel and senseless war."
"With all respect for the Sudanese nation, we hope the Sudanese regime will change its position regarding its participation in the aggression against Yemen. The Sudanese government will achieve nothing but defeat and destruction from this futile war," he added.
Abdul-Salam warned on Friday that Yemen would turn into a "graveyard" for the invaders.
The intensified battle for Hudaydah comes despite Pentagon chief James Mattis calling last month for a ceasefire and negotiations between Yemen's warring parties within 30 days.
Head of Yemen's Supreme Revolutionary Committee Muhammad Ali al-Houthi said in an op-ed published by The Washington Post that the escalating offensive in Hudaydah showed Mattis's ceasefire call was "nothing but empty talk."
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah also said on Saturday that calls from the United States, Europe and the UN for a ceasefire in Yemen "were good to hear" but could also be a trick aimed at wasting time.
"I say to our brothers there: Be patient, be steadfast … You are closer to victory than at any previous time," he said in a televised speech in southern Beirut.
The US and Saudi Arabia said they had agreed to end U.S. refueling of Saudi aircraft bombing Yemen but several officials underlined that American training and military assistance will continue.
Save the Children's field coordinator Mariam Aldogani, however, spoke of intense Saudi airstrikes in Hudaydah, with over 15 raids in the space of just 30 minutes. "This is the worst time for Hudaydah children," she said.