Yemen: 150 dead in a week of fighting in Hodeida, in the south-west of the country
Convoy of Yemeni rebels, here in 2018 (Photo illustration).
AFP
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Some 150 Houthi rebels and pro-government soldiers have been killed in a week of fighting south of the strategic city of Hodeidah in Yemen, according to military and medical sources.
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The conflict between the Iranian-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed government since 2014 has plunged this poor country on the Arabian Peninsula into the world's worst humanitarian crisis according to the UN.
According to a pro-government military source, the fighting was sparked by attacks by the rebels, who hold the port city of Hodeidah in the southwest of the country and seek to extend their control further south where loyalist forces are positioned.
►Also read: Yemen: the Houthis furious at being classified as terrorists by the United States
The clashes are the most violent since the entry into force of a UN-brokered truce in December 2018, residents reported, indicating that they had not given rise to a rebel advance.
"The loss toll of the two parties reached in one week about 150 dead and 260 wounded," said an official of forces loyal to the government. This toll was confirmed on the rebel side by one of the local insurgent leaders.
Decreased combat intensity
The fighting, which is not known to have claimed civilian lives, waned on Monday, after violent clashes on Saturday and Sunday.
The pro-government forces "
countered several rebel assaults, killing 44 of them at the cost of 27 dead in their own ranks,
" said two other sources within the power.
Doctors and rescuers have put forward a toll of 70 dead and dozens of injured on both sides for the days of Saturday and Sunday alone.
In early January, five women were killed when a shell was fired at a wedding hall near the Hodeidah airport, located on the front line.
With tens of thousands dead, millions displaced and a population on the brink of famine, war has ravaged Yemen.
And the UN's predictions for 2021 remain pessimistic, referring in particular to “
16 million people who will suffer from hunger
”.
(
with AFP
)
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