The strategic port of the Yemeni city of Hodeidah will remain operational despite the national army’s advance, Dr. Al Hassan Al Taher, Governor of Hodeidah, told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday.
The army, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, is about to reach the center of Hodeidah after closing in on the Iran-backed Houthi militias from all fronts.
The army reached the Duwar al-Matar Street, which lies around two kilometers from the city center and five kilometers from the eastern part of the city.
“The port of Hodeidah will remain operational despite all the circumstances and it would not be halted as the national army advances,” Al Taher said.
The legitimate government is keen on keeping the port open with its full capacities, he stressed.
“A military plan had been placed to keep Hodeidah’s port open to receive food, humanitarian assistance and goods and therefore, the militias would not be able to stop the port from operating,” he said.
“The Houthis are currently unable to launch large military operations against the army: From the western part of the city, the army and the popular resistance are only two kilometers away from the city’s mosque and around five kilometers from reaching its eastern side. The northeast has been kept open for the militias to flee before the army liberates the city,” Al Taher explained.
In the past hours, the army advance in the strategic port city had already forced around 15 Iranian experts to escape using the Hodeidah-Hajjah route, military spokesman Brigadier Abdo Majli told Asharq Al-Awsat.
He said the army had also launched operations in the province of Saada, where it advanced more than 40 kilometers deep in the area, and liberated around 20 villages.
Majli added that the military also liberated hills and strategic villages in the governorate of al-Dhale, in addition to the strategic al-Bayad mountain range and several other areas in the governorate of al-Bayda.
