Hudaydah Airport Still under Control of Ansarullah Forces: Yemeni Commander
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Yemen's army spokesman Brigadier General Sharaf Luqman dismissed reports that Saudi-backed militants and UAE forces had seized Hudaydah airport, stressing that Houthi forces are still in control of the facility in the western port city.
Hudaydah airport is fully under the control of fighters from Ansarullah movement, Luqman said late on Thursday.
He added that the Yemeni fighters have been fighting against Daesh and al-Qaeda militants in Hudaydah's al-Durayhimi district, and have surrounded all Saudi-backed forces and mercenaries in the al-Jah neighborhood.
The commander further rejected reports that the airport in Hudaydah had fallen to the hands of Saudi-backed forces.
The remarks came after Saudi-led coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki told Al Arabiya television that the alliance had “captured the airport on Wednesday and was now destroying nearby Houthi fortifications.”
Luqman pointed out that the mercenaries have two choices, either to surrender or die.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam stressed that the aggressors had been defeated in Yemen's western coast despite possessing numerous weapons and enjoying financial and media support.
He further described the invaders' battle as "a mass suicide," saying the offensive is aimed at killing Yemenis and end their sovereignty.
The Yemeni people will not give in to any pressure, Abdulsalam said, emphasizing that Houthi fighters had foiled the enemies' "foolish" plots with a swift attack.
Separately, Mohammad al-Bukhaiti, a top figure in the Houthi movement’s Supreme Political Council, released a video from the Hudaydah airport that showed claims of the Saudi-backed forces' presence there were false.
Since June 13, the Saudi-led coalition and its mercenaries have launched massive attacks to bring the port city under their control, but have failed to achieve their objective due to Yemenis’ resistance.
The United States, Britain and France have backed the coalition in the Yemen conflict and keep providing weapons to both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
While the Yemeni army and popular committees are fighting off the assailants and countering attacks on residential areas, international humanitarian organizations have warned of dire consequences of any escalation of violence around Hudaydah.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Lise Grande recently said “as many as 250,000 people may lose everything -even their lives,” if there is a military attack on Hudaydah.
