Yemenis Repel Fresh Saudi Push in Hudaydah

Date: 16 December 2018 - 21:59

News ID: ۶۰۸۸۴

SANAA (Dispatches) -- Saudi airstrikes and fierce clashes shook the outskirts of Yemen's Hudaydah on Sunday despite a UN-brokered ceasefire that Yemenis already feared could collapse at any moment.
Residents were hoping that the ceasefire reached in Sweden Thursday would provide them a respite after months of clashes which have seen a push by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to seize Hudaydah thwarted.
But heavy clashes broke out on the outskirts of Hudaydah overnight Saturday following fresh attempts by Saudi and Emirati troops and their mercenaries to advance into the city amid aerial bombings.
A military source loyal to Yemen's former Saudi-backed regime told AFP that least 29 fighters, including 22 Houthis, had been killed on Saturday night.
He also claimed that seven Houthi fighters had been taken captive during an attack by pro-Saudi militants in Hudaydah Province's Durayhimi district.
A Hudaydah resident said the fresh fighting was "fierce" and that the sounds of fighter jets, operated by Saudi Arabia and its allies, could be heard throughout the night until Sunday morning.
Yemen's army spokesman Brigadier Yahya Sare'e said dozens of Saudi air raids had targeted residential neighborhoods across the impoverished country and dropped cluster bombs on citizens' farms in Hudaydah.
In a statement carried by Yemen's official Saba news agency, Sare'e said Saudi mercenaries, supported by heavy shelling of artillery and rockets, had tried to infiltrate into Durayhimi from several directions.
"They tried to sneak into the positions of our forces but the army and Popular Committees responded, killing and wounding a number of them," he added.
According to the Al-Masirah television, there were ongoing clashes and airstrikes in the city and its outskirts on Sunday.
UN chief Antonio Guterres warned that "much worse" lay in store for the impoverished country in 2019 unless its warring parties strike a peace deal and head off a humanitarian crisis.
The fresh clashes came after Yemen’s Houthi movement and the former Saudi-allied regime agreed Thursday to cease fighting and withdraw their forces from Hudaydah following week-long peace talks in Sweden.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Houthi leadership said the UN had set the Hudaydah ceasefire date for December 18.
"The Houthis received a message from the UN, setting the date to begin the ceasefire between the warring parties in the city of Hudaydah on December 18," he told Doha-based Al Jazeera broadcaster.
The truce was the first significant breakthrough in Yemen's peace process, which is aimed at ending the Saudi war that has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
However, Houthi chief negotiator Muhammad Abdulsalam said on Friday there was no sign that the Saudis were "going to stop their aggression against the innocent people of Yemen despite the ceasefire deal."
Abdulsalam called on the Yemenis to remain vigilant, especially in Hudaydah and Tai'zz, and continue supporting the Yemeni army and popular committees.
The Houthis and their allies in the Yemeni army control most towns and cities, including Hudadah and the capital Sanaa.