Government push in Hodeidah stalls as Huthis plant mines

HODEIDAH - A push by Yemeni loyalists to recapture insurgent-held Hodeidah has stalled, according to pro-government officials Wednesday, as local sources said rebels had planted landmines around the city's key port.

Forces loyal to Yemen's government halted their offensive on the city as the United Arab Emirates, a key member of the pro-government coalition, threw its weight behind "early" UN peace talks.

Three military officials said that pro-government forces were "ordered" to stop their assault against the Iran-linked Huthi rebels until further notice, but would resume operations should the insurgents attack.

A relative calm had been holding for a second full day Wednesday in the Red Sea city, despite the thundering sound of jets flying overhead, with no major clashes reported.

Burnt out cars were seen on the streets of the city, whose port serves as a key lifeline to the impoverished country.

Pro-government forces had earlier announced a temporary pause in their advance into the city to allow safe passage for civilians, humanitarian staff and wounded, a military official said.

One military official said however the pro-government forces will be launching major operations "in the coming days".

"The battles will not stop, except with the liberation of Hodeidah and the whole west coast," he said.

The slowdown in fighting follows diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in the city. Britain's Foreign Office said Tuesday the Saudi-led alliance fighting on the side of the government had agreed to the evacuation of up to 50 wounded Huthi fighters to Oman following a visit to Riyadh by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.

However, despite the apparent temporary lull, a spokesman for the Huthis told a news conference broadcast on the rebels' Al-Masirah TV on Tuesday that they were ready for "war in the streets" of Hodeidah.

'Mining the port'

The Huthi rebels, who seized the Red Sea city in 2014, claimed they were mining areas across Hodeidah province, airing footage late Tuesday of what they said were landmine explosions targeting pro-government forces.

Three port employees reached by telephone said the rebels had also begun to mine entryways to the port overnight.

The Huthis had planted explosives near two of the port's gates, one that leads to Jizan Road, a main street in the city's north, and the other near the Alsanabel flour mill company, the said.

"There is only one entrance left into the port, and that is the main gate that leads to Mina Street that trucks use," one employee, who requested anonymity, said.

Hodeidah port came under attack late Monday for the first time since June, when government troops supported by a Saudi-led coalition launched an offensive to take back the city from the Iran-backed Huthis.

The port's deputy director, Yahya Sharafeddine, said the main entrance to the docks had been hit, but it was fully functioning.

Residents in Hodeidah say they now fear a siege on the city, home to some 600,000 people, with only one major exit route in still open to traffic, on the northern edge.

'Push for peace talks'

According to the United Nation's office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), "fighting reduced in Hodeidah city on 12 November" after a previous escalation in clashes and air strikes in Hodeidah province in the first 10 days of the month.

Citing data collected by the Civilian Impact Monitoring Project -- linked to the UN global protection clusters -- OCHA said Tuesday 34 people were killed among 92 civilian casualties in the first week of November in Hodeidah province.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said about 445,000 people have fled Hodeidah province since June.

Nearly four years into the war, there has been an increase in international pressure to end the fighting in Hodeidah, whose docks are the entry point for some 80 percent of food imports and humanitarian aid into impoverished Yemen.

The UN has warned an attack on the port would be "catastrophic" in a country where half the population is at risk of starvation.

World Food Programme chief David Beasley, who is visiting the country, said up to 14 million Yemenis were on the brink of starvation, and 18 to 19 million were now "food insecure".

"Conditions on the ground are extremely, extremely bad," he told the BBC on Wednesday. "Bottom line, we need for this war to end."

UN aid chief Mark Lowcock on Tuesday called for a cessation of hostilities "in and around all the infrastructure and facilities" of the port.

UN mediator Martin Griffiths -- whose efforts to host negotiations in Geneva in September failed -- met with Yemeni Foreign Minister Khaled al-Yamani in Riyadh on Monday for talks on reviving the peace process, Saudi Arabia's state news agency reported.

Restart the process

Meanwhile the United Arab Emirates, a leading member of the pro-government coalition, said Wednesday it supports a UN plan for peace talks to be held in Sweden by the year's end.

"We welcome early convening of UN-led talks in Sweden," the UAE state minister for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, tweeted in English.

Gargash said the pro-government coalition would "urge all parties to take advantage of window of opportunity to restart the political process" at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday.

"We look forward to hosting (UN Yemen envoy) Martin Griffiths this week in Abu Dhabi," Gargash added.

The United States, Britain and France -- three of the main arms suppliers to Saudi Arabia -- have also called for an end to nearly four years of conflict, particularly in Hodeidah.

The Saudi-led alliance this month stepped up an offensive to take the city, which is home to Yemen's most valuable port, crucial for food imports and aid delivery.

Hodeidah port is under a near-total blockade by Saudi Arabia and its allies, who accuse Iran of smuggling arms to the Huthis. Tehran denies the accusation.

The campaign has sparked fears of a new humanitarian crisis in impoverished Yemen, where 14 million people face mass starvation.

According to UN figures, nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the coalition joined the conflict in 2015 to bolster President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, triggering what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Rights groups fear the actual toll is a lot higher.