The Saudi-UAE-led military coalition is sending 10,000 fighters near Yemen’s al-Hudaydah ahead of another attempt to recapture the strategic port city of Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthis) and its allies, according to reports in Arab media. This force is reportedly set to strengthen the already deployed troops and equipment in the area.
Since June 2018, the coalition and its local proxies have carried out a series of large-scale offensives attempting to capture al-Hudaydah. However, all of them has failed. According to local sources, about 400-500 coalition-backed fighters and dozens of units of military equipment were eliminated by Ansar Allah-led forces in these attempts.
On October 30, an unnamed military official from the Saudi-backed government located in Aden told AFP that the coalition would deploy reinforcements to the Red Sea coast ahead of a new offensive on Hudaydah “within days.” The source added that coalition forces are already working to “secure” areas near al-Hudaydah.
The port city is the last major hub allowing Anslar Allah to receive supplies, including food and medicine, for the part of the country controlled by the movement. If the port city is captured by the coalition, the already existing humanitarian crisis in northwestern Yemen will become even worse.
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