Fears of a humanitarian crisis in Yemen’s main port city Hodeidah grew as battles spilled into residential districts on Wednesday after Arab coalition forces seized the airport from the Iran-aligned Houthis.
Residents said coalition aircraft were bombing Houthi positions on roads leading to the airport as the group dug in against an onslaught by the Arab alliance to take the city, the Houthis’ main port and the lifeline for millions of Yemenis.
Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told Al Arabiya television that the alliance captured the airport on Wednesday and was now destroying nearby Houthi fortifications. He accused the group of placing tanks inside residential areas.
The escalation in fighting has wounded civilians, forced many to flee their homes and hampered humanitarian agencies, which are concerned about a potential cholera outbreak in the densely inhabited city as fighting cuts off water supplies. UN officials estimate that in a worst-case scenario the fighting could cost up to 2,50,000 lives.
Saudi Arabia accuses the Houthis of using Hodeidah’s port to smuggle in Iranian-made weapons, including missiles that have been fired at Saudi cities. The Houthis and Tehran deny this.
