Saudi-Led Coalition Says to Halt Attacks on Hudaydah

TEHRAN (IQNA) – The Saudi-led coalition that has been attacking Yemen for over three years said it is halting its offensive on the western Yemeni city of Hudaydah, after nearly two weeks of fierce air and ground assault to push out Houthi Ansarullah fighters from the strategic city.

A source in the military alliance told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that "the coalition has instructed forces on the ground to halt fighting inside Hudaydah" - which is the port of entry for most food, aid and commercial goods.

A non-military source with knowledge of the decision claimed the coalition was responding to international requests for a ceasefire to ensure the Houthis attend planned peace talks.

However, the fierce resistance from Yemeni people seems to be the main reason behind the decision.

Between November 3 and 12, there had been more than 200 air attacks on the city, with the fighting killing at least 600 Yemeni people according to an AFP tally.

A number of countries had recently called for a cessation ahead of renewed UN-led peace efforts to end the war which has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, said the Emirates supported UN plans to hold peace talks in Sweden by the end of the year.

"We welcome early convening of UN-led talks in Sweden," Gargash, tweeted. He said the coalition would "urge all parties to take advantage of [the] window of opportunity to restart the political process" at a UN Security Council meeting on Friday.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE launched a ground offensive on June 13 to capture Hudaydah.

The operation, however, came into an immediate halt in the face of stiff resistance by Houthi Ansarullah movement fighters and residents of the port city, which forced the kingdom to wind down the push.

Coalition airstrikes on the city, meanwhile, have continued.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out deadly airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights announced in a statement on March 25 that the war had left 600,000 civilians dead and injured until then. The war and the accompanying blockade have also caused famine across Yemen.