MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The situation in Yemen remains tense and another flare-up around the port of Hodeidah cannot be ruled out, Russia’s Ambassador to Yemen Vladimir Dedushkin told TASS on Saturday.
According to him, the situation at major fronts - the Governorates of Hodeidah, Saada, Dhali, Al Bayda and Taiz - "remains rather tense."
"Confrontation around Hodeidah has reached its peak. Government forces supported by Arab coalition’s massive air strikes are striving to encircle the city", the diplomat said. "Fighting between them and Ansar Allah (Houthis) forces are occurring in southern and eastern suburbs. Residential areas come under shelling."
"In past two days, the intensity of fighting has dropped a little. However, no ceasefire agreement has been achieved. Therefore, another phase of escalation cannot be ruled out," Dedushkin said.
"In these conditions, the most serious concern is that fighting will spill over to the port which remains Yemen’s gateway for 90% of food, fuel and medicines," the ambassador said. "In case the Hodeidah-Sanaa motorway is blocked, the starving population in the country’s north (80% of the Yemenis) will be doomed to die," he concluded.
Since August 2014, Yemen has been devastated by a war between the country’s world-recognized authorities and the Houthi rebel units. However, the conflict entered an active phase when the Saudi-led coalition invaded the country at the request of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi in March 2015.