Pro-Saudi forces have announced Monday that the “large-scale military operations” against the northern port city of Hodeidah have begun, and that forces intend to continue advancing north until “victory” is achieved.
Hodeidah is the lone seaport under the control of the Shi’ite Houthi movement, and by extension is the only port through which humanitarian aid can flow for the entire northern half of the country. A vital humanitarian location, which to pro-Saudi forces is a vital military target.
Successfully conquering Hodeidah would, after all, mean the Houthi territory, including the capital city and many millions of people, would have no access to food or medical aid. This would be an opportunity for the Saudi invading force to really crack down on them.
Saudi-led forces have been massing just south of the city, and say that while the city itself isn’t the immediate goal of the invasion, it is the eventual point of the operation. The “liberation” of Hodeidah is seen as a potential breaking point for the Houthis.
They envision it forcing a surrender, but it may also could bring millions of malnourished people into outright starvation. This is a known fact, with the UN special envoy warning about this for weeks. Still, Saudi officials have been desperate to break the stalemate in the war, and have also shown little concern for the consequences to civilians.
Just the sort of allies we need. The USA, UK, Israel,France are showing the complete disregard for any humanity at all, while they argue about petty matters and destroy what they can of our planet.
The Saudis have obviously learned from the period of the Egyptian invasion that the blockade or possession of Hodiedah is crucial. Of course the British did not dare to blockade it at the time for fear of the US, Egypt’s ally. That’s why I found Carter’s complaint when the Brits subsequently abandoned southern Yemen to the Soviets so funny.
They won’t stop with the Houthis. The Saudis won’t be satisfied until the entire Zaydi population is liquefied. Lets call a spade a spade. This is genocide and it is being facilitated by our government.
We have a continuous language problem. This is not a rebel port, but a Yemen port. It has been part of North Yemen fot centuries, and Notth Yemen people have their iwn identity and inhabit all the cities if North Yemen. What was South Yemen was critical for British when their seafaring Empire needed port of Aden for refueling, going into, or coming from Indian Ocean. Saudi Arabia is nit fighting Houthi “rebels”, name referring to just one tribe of many Zaidi Yemen tribes. Liok up Zaidi Yemen for detailed information on this long lasting dynasty. North us predominantly a branch of Shia, South predominately Sunni. They were forcefully joined into one state after the fall of Soviet Union. Bith North and South agree — they want to be two states again. US brought in UAE to control the South, and we are yet to see how will this work out. South is closer politically and geographically to Oman – but US does not trust Oman. So, whatever is done to Yemen is just a short term reaction to prevent “coalition” from just bailing out.