ADEN (Reuters) - Saudi-led coalition aircraft bombarded Houthi fighters holed up at the airport of Yemen’s main port Hodeidah on Monday as a senior alliance official said he hoped U.N. diplomacy could coax the Iran-aligned movement to relinquish the city.There are fears that a prolonged battle for the city, where the Houthis are dug in to protect critical supply lines from the Red Sea to their bastion in the capital Sanaa, could aggravate what is already the world’s most urgent humanitarian crisis.
The Western-backed Arab alliance launched an onslaught on Hodeidah six days ago in order to turn the tables in a long stalemated, proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran that has compounded instability across the Middle East.
The United Arab Emirates, a key component of the coalition, is spearheading the Hodeidah offensive, now focused on the airport of the Red Sea city.