Yemeni government backs UN peace talks but Hodeida still at risk

Yemen's president has supported a UN push for fresh talks to end almost four years of fighting in his war-torn country, but analysts warn even a diplomatic breakthrough may not spare the port city of Hodeida from fresh military action.
An uneasy calm held in flashpoint Hodeida on Thursday for the third consecutive day after nearly two weeks of intense fighting between Iran-backed Huthi rebels, who control the Red Sea city, and a pro-government alliance led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. For five months, the alliance has fought intermittently to drive the Huthis from the city, home to a port that is the entry point of nearly 80 percent of Yemen's imports.
The bitter conflict erupted in late 2015, and half the country's population now stands on the brink of starvation, dependent on Hodeida for supplies of humanitarian aid.
Residents say they fear a siege on the city, where airstrikes and street battles have left entire neighbours destroyed and sparked fears the port, already under blockade by the Saudi-led alliance, could be the next target. "There are trenches and barricades inside and around the city," said resident Amjad Zaid.
"Now, the people are besieged from inside Hodeida. Hodeida is under an internal and external siege." Shops and schools near frontlines re-opened Thursday and some families began to venture back out, as men in military fatigues could be seen hauling grenade launchers across the city on motorcycles.
Loyalist fighters on Wednesday said they had been ordered to halt military operations, just as the fight reached Hodeida's most heavily populated neighbourhoods on the southern and eastern city limits. But a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition declined to confirm a ceasefire in Hodeida. "Military operations are ongoing, and each operation has its own specifics and pace," Colonel Turki al-Maliki told AFP.
The Huthi rebels reported air strikes Thursday on Kilo 16, the main supply route for the rebels and for aid shipments to cities across Yemen. The coalition did not confirm the report. Diplomatic pressure to end the conflict gathered pace this week, with the US, France and Britain calling for a cessation of hostilities. The three countries, major providers of arms to Saudi Arabia, have not yet halted weapons sales to the kingdom.