Fighting eases over Yemen’s Hodeidah as Western pressure mounts on Saudi-led coalition – report

Battles eased in Yemen’s main port city of Hodeidah on Monday in a possible sign of de-escalation as Western allies pressed the Saudi-led coalition to end the war against Houthi rebels. The fighting has left Yemen on the verge of starvation. Airstrikes against Houthi fortifications halted on Monday and street battles, which had been raging for a week on the outskirts of the Red Sea city, trapping civilians and endangering hospitals, died down, Reuters reported, citing residents. The lull coincided with a visit by British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt to Saudi Arabia, to press for an end to the nearly four-year war which has killed more than 10,000 people. However, coalition spokesman, Colonel Turki al-Malki, said in Riyadh: “The operation is still ongoing. It’s not true that there is a ceasefire in Hodeidah.”