AFP, Abu Dhabi :
The United Arab Emirates on Sunday announced a pause in the offensive it is backing against Huthi rebels in Yemen’s port city of Hodeida, to give a chance to UN peace efforts.
“We welcome continuing efforts by UN Special Envoy, Martin Griffiths, to achieve an unconditional Huthi withdrawal from Hodeida city and port,” UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.
“We have paused our campaign to allow enough time for this option to be fully explored. We hope he will succeed.”
The announcement comes after Griffiths met with President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, whose troops are battling the Huthi rebels for control of the Red Sea port city, earlier this week.
Hadi demanded a full rebel withdrawal from the city, which has been the target of a weeks-long military offensive by the Yemeni government and its regional allies, led by the UAE on the ground.
Diplomatic sources have said Griffiths has been pushing for the Iran-backed Huthis to cede control of the port to the United Nations and there have been some reports they have agreed.
The Huthis have controlled the western city of Hodeida, and its port, since 2014, when they drove the Hadi government out of the capital and seized large swathes of northern Yemen.
On June 13, the UAE and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, launched a massive military operation – dubbed “Golden Victory” – to drive the rebels out of the Hodeida port.
Some 70 percent of imports to Yemen, where eight million people face imminent famine, flow through the port of Hodeida.
Nearly 10,000 people have died in the Yemen war since 2015, when Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the government’s fight against the Huthis.
The United Nations has called Yemen the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
The Huthis have controlled Hodeida and its port since 2014, when they drove the Hadi government out of the capital and seized large swathes of northern Yemen.
On June 13, the UAE and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, launched a massive military operation-dubbed “Golden Victory”-to drive the rebels out of the port.
Pro-government forces managed to seize control of Hodeida’s airport in mid-June after days of heavy fighting but did not immediately push forward into the city, home to some 600,000 people and about 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Sanaa.
Gargash said the operation has succeeded in “forcing the Huthis to make concessions” but said it remained to be seen “whether the Huthis are engaging seriously with this process or using it as a tactic to buy time”.
“Failing these patient efforts we believe that continued military pressure will ultimately bring the liberation of Hodeida and force the Huthis to engage seriously in negotiations.”
Some 70 percent of imports to Yemen, where eight million people face imminent famine, flow through the port of Hodeida.
