Military plan in place for Hodeida port

A military plan is in place for Yemen—backed by a Saudi-led coalition—to strike the Al Houthi-held Hodeidah port on the Red Sea, Yemen’s foreign minister has said.

In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al Riyadh newspaper, Abdul Malik Al Mekhlafi said that a military offensive in Hodeida would bring about a peaceful settlement that would end the more than three years of civil war.

“Al Hodeida is part of the war and it is the only remaining smuggling point under the control of Al Houthis and Saleh. We have[prepared] a plan for the liberation of Al Hodeida,” Al Mekhlafi said, adding that his government has agreed to a proposal put forth by UN envoy Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad which aims to disrupt the flow of arms to the rebels through the strategic port city.

Al Houthis will only come to the negotiating table when “all of their illusions about a military victory in Yemen are broken”, Al Mekhlafi said.

Full Story Here: Gulf News