Arab forces seize entrances to Yemeni airport

Forces from an alliance of Arabstates seized two entrances to the airport in Yemen's main portcity on Friday, in an offensive against the Iran-aligned Houthimovement that the United Nations fears could trigger a famineimperilling millions of lives.

The swift advance was an important early success for the alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which launched theoperation in Hodeidah three days ago and says it can seize thecity quickly enough to avoid interrupting aid to the millionsfacing starvation.

"We saw the resistance forces in the square at thenorthwestern entrance to the airport," said a Hodeidah resident,referring to Yemeni allies of the Saudi-led coalition. TwoYemeni military officials allied to the coalition confirmedthis.

Alliance-backed Yemeni forces tweeted that they had alsoseized the airport's southern entrance and were advancing down amain road towardthe Hodeidah seaport.

The UAE state news agency said Houthi fighters at the airport were crumbling. However, local military sources said the Houthis have surrounded themselves with a large number of landmines, meaning that it would take some time for coalitionforces to battle their way to the main airport buildings.

Residents said battles had been fought in the Manzar neighbourhood abutting the wall around the airport. "There have been terrifying bombing runs since the morning when they struck Houthi positions near the airport," said fish vendor Ammar Ahmed. "We live days of terror that we have never known before."

In the evening, a first ambulance made it into the area andevacuated seven wounded civilians, but two of them died beforereaching hospital, a medical source told Reuters.

Apache attack helicopters hovered over Manzar, firing atHouthi snipers and fighters in schools and other buildings, saidanother resident, who asked not to be identified. Houthi forceshad entered homes overlooking the main road to go onto the roofs.

Streets elsewhere in the city were empty despite the Eidholiday marking the end of the Ramadan fast. Houthi fightersamassed in the city centre where a hospital put out a call forblood donations, the resident said.

Aid agency CARE International quoted its last staff memberin Hodeidah as saying: "The situation is very scary, scarierthan it has ever been before. We can hear the fighting comingclose and the situation is really changing for the worse."

Risk ofstarvation

The coalition of Arab states has battled with little successfor three years to defeat the Houthis, who control the capitalSanaa, the Hodeidah port and most of Yemen's populated areas.The assault on Hodeidah is the alliance's first attempt tocapture such a well-defended major city.

"We are at the edges of the airport and are working tosecure it now," the Arab coalition said in a statement toReuters. "Operational priority is to avoid civilian casualties,maintain the flow of humanitarian aid, and allow for the UN topress the Houthis to evacuate the city."

The assault is a gamble by the Arab states, who insist theycan swiftly capture the port without major disruption to aidsupplies in a country already experiencing the world's mostpressing humanitarian crisis.

The United Nations, which struggled but failed to find adiplomatic path to head off the assault, fears the fighting willcut off the only lifeline for most Yemenis. Around 22 milliondepend on aid and 8.4 million are at immediate risk ofstarvation.

Western countries have long given the Arab states tacitdiplomatic backing and sell them billions of dollars a year inarms. But that support could falter if the assault provokes thefeared humanitarian catastrophe.

"I urge all parties to the conflict to meet theirobligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure andtake active steps to respect international humanitarian law,"said David Beasley, head of the UN World Food Program.

The UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, is due toarrive in Sanaa on Saturday.

Civilians fleeing

Capturing Hodeidah would give the Arab coalition the upper hand in the war, in which it has fought since 2015 to restore an exiled government driven out by the Houthis. But a successful operation would require capturing a city of 600,000 people without inflicting damage that would destroy the port.

Civilians are fleeing if they have anywhere to go, orstaying and bracing for a battle.

"My family left for Sanaa yesterday, but I stayed behindalone to protect our home from looters," said Mohammed Abdullah,an employee of the Houthi administration.

Riyadh and Abu Dhabi say the Houthis are a proxy force forIran, their regional arch-rival. The Houthis, from a Shia minority, deny being Tehran's pawns. Instead, they say they tookpower in a popular revolt and are defending Yemen from invasionby its neighbours.