Intense Clashes Between Saudi Coalition and Houthis in Hodeidah Province, Yemen

Reuters reported intense clashes between Houthi militants and forces affiliated with the Saudi and Emirati coalition in Hodeidah province, Yemen. On Sunday, June 9, citing 'local military sources,' the agency reported that on Friday and Saturday, fierce fighting erupted 10 kilometers south of the port city of Hodeidah and in the Bayt al-Faqih area, 35 kilometers southeast of Hodeidah. The Saudi and Emirati coalition forces have been conducting operations to seize the strategic Hodeidah province for about a month. According to local military sources, Saudi and Emirati coalition aircraft and ships have targeted Houthi positions in Hodeidah province. Meanwhile, the agency reports that Martin Griffiths, the UN mediator in Yemen, has prepared a draft peace plan. Based on Reuters' report, this draft calls on the Houthis to hand over their missiles in exchange for a halt to the Saudi coalition's airstrikes and the initiation of a transitional period. So far, UN efforts to end the three-year war in Yemen have yielded no results. The Houthis, who are supported by Iran, have been at war with loyalists of Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, the President of Yemen, since 2014, and since March 2015, a coalition led by Saudi Arabia has entered the war in support of the Yemeni government. Saudi Arabia claims that the Houthis smuggle Iranian weapons into Yemen through the port of Hodeidah, but Iran has denied sending weapons to the Houthis, which could be seen as a violation of UN Security Council resolutions regarding Iran and Yemen. Meanwhile, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah network announced that on Saturday night, these forces fired a ballistic missile, M2, towards Saudi positions. The Saudi state news agency reported that this missile was launched towards Jizan province in southern Saudi Arabia, bordering Yemen, resulting in the deaths of three civilians. The Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia has conducted thousands of airstrikes in Yemen. In the three-year war in Yemen, more than 10,000 people have been killed, and three million have been displaced. According to the UN, Yemen is currently suffering from the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, grappling with famine and infectious diseases such as cholera. Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, warned on Friday that the prolonged siege and attacks on Hodeidah affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians.