ADEN, Yemen, Mar 2 (NNN-SABA) – Fighters of the Houthi group continued to attack Yemeni government-controlled areas in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, a military official said.
A number of government-controlled military positions, residential areas in Hays district of Hodeidah province, came under random Houthi attack, the local military official said.
The Houthi attack created panic among local citizens, particularly women and children living near the front-lines, but no casualties were recorded, according to the source.
Earlier in the day, positions of the joint pro-government forces in Durayhmi were targeted by mortar shells, according to a statement released by the Yemeni government.
The Saudi-backed Yemeni government, accused the Iranian-backed Houthis of stepping up the number of armed attacks, despite the cease-fire brokered by the United Nations.
On Thursday, government forces blamed the Houthi rebels of launching an attack that killed five children in Hodeidah’s district of Tuhyata.
On the other side, media outlets linked to the Houthi group blamed the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces of targeting military sites of the rebels in Hodeidah.
UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, concluded his two-day talks with senior leaders of the Houthis, but did not succeed in convincing them to start withdrawal from Hodeidah.
The warring forces have so far failed to withdraw from Hodeidah and its southern districts, in accordance with the UN-sponsored Stockholm Peace Agreement reached last Dec.
The deal aimed to avert an all-out offensive on the lifeline port city, which is the key entry to most of Yemen’s commercial imports and international aid.
The four-year civil war has killed more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, displaced three million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine.– NNN-SABA
