Local Editor
The Houthi Ansarullah movement says the ongoing Saudi-led military operation on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida enjoys backing by the US and Britain, appreciating Yemeni fighters' resistance against foreign aggressors.
Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam told Arabic-language al-Masirah television network that American, British and French warships are now on Yemen's western coast to launch missile and aerial attacks on the country.
The Hodeida assault, he said, is an American-British one as the aggressor states - Saudi Arabia and the UAE - are not capable of launching such a campaign.
Abdulsalam also hailed counter-attacks by the Houthis against the Western-sponsored aggressors.
"The enemies, who are not committed to moral values, have failed to achieve their objectives in Yemen's western coastline and thus resorted to psychological warfare," he added.
The remarks came hours before a trip by UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to the conflict-ridden country.
The Houthi spokesman said Griffiths had so far done nothing to resolve the Yemen crisis despite his numerous visits to Sana'a and talks with Yemeni officials.
The UN envoy's measures are only meant to cover up the continuation of the Saudi-led war on Yemen, Abdulsalam noted, stressing that if Griffiths follows his predecessor's lead, he would fail to settle the conflict.
The UAE, a key member of the Saudi-led coalition waging the war on Yemen, launched the Hodeida offensive on Wednesday despite stern warnings by the UN and international rights groups against the catastrophic consequences of such a military action.
The Houthis and allied armed forces say they have dealt a heavy blow to the aggressors, killing Emirati soldiers and targeting a UAE warship with a missile off the coast of the Yemeni port in a counter-attack.
Hodeida serves as a lifeline for aid delivery to Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition claims that the Houthis are using the port city for weapons delivery, an allegation rejected by the fighters.
Reinforcements to join Hodeida attack
On Friday, UAE military sources told the BBC that a major force of Yemeni, Emirati and Sudanese soldiers is on standby in Eritrea to join a final push to capture Hodeida.
The sources also said that they had been deploying a deception plan luring the Houthis into believing they were being attacked from the sea to the north of Hodeida when in fact the Saudi-led coalition ground troops were advancing up from the south.
Hodeida airport
On Saturday, the media office of the Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, loyal to ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, said on Twitter that they had entered the Hodeida airport.
However, a pro-Hadi source and local residents said the main building of the airport had just been encircled but not seized.
"We need some time to make sure there are no gunmen, mines or explosive in the building," the source said.
The Houthis have not commented on the news.
Locals said fighting in the airport area has led to the closure of the northern entrance of Hodeida, which leads to the Yemeni capital city of Sana'a, and made it more difficult to transport goods from the port.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
