What does the battle for Hudaida mean for the people of Yemen?
Ongoing fighting between Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels risks cutting vital supplies.
Concerns are rising for the safety of civilians living in and around the northern coastal city of Hudaida, where Yemeni troops backed by a Saudi-Emirati coalition are aiming to take control of a strategic port long held by Houthi rebel fighters.
The war in Yemen is now in its fourth year, with more than 10,000 civilians killed as a result of the fighting. Control of Hudaida’s port is considered by the Yemeni government and the Saudi-led coalition to be of paramount importance in defeating the Houthis. The port provides the Houthis with a vital supply line from the Red Sea coast to its stronghold in the capital Sanaa, which it has controlled since 2015. Saudi Arabia and their Emirati partners say that the port is a conduit for Iranian-supplied weaponry to the Houthis, which the Houthi leadership denies. A UN special envoy has led negotiations for the Houthis to cede control of the port to a UN supervision committee or the Yemeni government, but the talks have so far not borne fruit.
A prolonged battle for control of the port could have deadly repercussions for civilians in Hudaida and beyond, with the United Nations and humanitarian organisations warning that fighting in the area is hampering aid shipments. About three-quarters of Yemen’s imports come through Hudaida port, channeling essential food and medicine to about 70 percent of the Yemeni population.
Amnesty International says both the coalition and the Houthis have deliberately delayed the delivery of vital aid, in a clear case of collective punishment of the population. Approximately 8.4 million people – a third of Yemen’s population – are at risk of starvation and are entirely reliant on food aid to survive, the UN says. The urgent supply of aid to people living beyond the front line has been further complicated by damage to roads, bridges and waterways from coalition air raids.
Water supplies around Hudaida have also been hit, stoking a cholera epidemic that has sickened about one million people. Many families living in and around Hudaida have left their homes for fear of fighting taking hold in residential areas. About 5,200 families have fled the area so far in June, according to Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
On this episode of The Stream, we speak with:
Hussain al-Bukhaiti @HussainBukhaiti
Journalist
Sama’a Al-Hamdani @Yemeniaty
Yemen Analyst
yciha.org
Rawya Rageh @RawyaRageh
Senior Crisis Adviser, Amnesty International
amnesty.org/en
Rawan Shaif @RawanSSA18
Journalist
Summer Nasser @ToEducate
Chairwoman, Yemen Aid
yemenaid.org
Read more:
What if mass starvation takes hold in Yemen? – New York Times
Why it won’t be easy to resolve Yemen’s many wars – Washington Post