Dubai (AFP) – Emitari-backed Yemeni government forces seized Hodeida airport from Huthi rebels on Wednesday, their commander said, in a major step towards retaking the key Red Sea port city.
“The airport was completely cleared, Thank God, and is under control,” coalition commander Abdul Salaam al-Shehi said in a video posted by the United Arab Emirates’ official WAM news agency.
Last Wednesday, government forces launched an offensive to clear Hodeida of rebel fighters who have held it since 2014, raising UN concerns for vital aid shipments and commercial food imports through the city’s docks.