Aggressors’ Adventurism in Yemen’s Hudaydah to Face Defeat: Houthi Leader

Mohammed Ali al-Houthi said Yemenis are not afraid of any military escalation by the aggressors, the Arabic-language Al-Manar TV reported.

Any adventurism, like the recent attack on Hudaydah, will face defeat, he stressed.

The Houthi leader further emphasized that in case the escalation continues, the people of Yemen know how to “teach a lesson” to the aggressors. 

A source at the Yemeni Foreign Ministry also said the military escalation in Yemen’s west coast region was aimed at destroying the unity and territorial integrity of the Arabian Peninsula country.

Speaking to Yemen’s Saba news agency, the source said tensions in the region will not only lead to the suffering of the Yemeni nation, but will also threaten the security and stability of international maritime routes in the Red Sea and the Bab Al-Mandab Strait.

The comments came after media reports said heavy fighting in Yemen’s west coast region left more than 250 Houthi forces killed, among them 20 senior field commanders.

In response, the Yemeni forces dealt severe blows to the Saudi-led mercenaries in the region, where the Hudaydah port is located.

While the Yemeni army and popular committees are fighting off the assailants and countering attacks on residential areas, the international humanitarian organizations have warned of dire consequences of any escalation of violence around Hudaydah.

UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande has announced that “as many as 250,000 people may lose everything -even their lives,” if there is a military attack on Hudaydah.

Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and some of its Arab allies have been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi Ansarullah movement in Yemen in an attempt to restore power to fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh.

Over 14,000 Yemenis, including women and children, have died in the deadly military campaign.