Saudi-led alliance pounds Hudaydah during Eid prayer

Warplanes of the Saudi-led coalition have bombed coastal areas southeast of the Yemeni port city of Hudaydah as local residents congregated for the Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan in an open area early Friday morning.

"Many warplanes were flying low over the city during the prayers," a local resident said, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, reports suggest troops loyal to Yemen's former government, under the leadership of the United Arab Emirates, are closing in on the Hudaydah airport.

The Saudi-backed coalition is trying to capture the port city in its yet heaviest assault on the country in more than three years. The offensive threatens to cut the lifeline to millions of Yemeni people already struggling with an acute shortage of vital supplies.

The coalition’s warplanes and warships were reported to have intensified the bombardment campaign on Hudaydah on the second day of the offensive. Helicopter gunships bombed a strip of coastal territory near the airport, causing the civilian population to flee in panic on Thursday.

"The fighting is getting close to the al-Manzar area near the airport and people are fleeing in fear," said Mohammed Abdullah, an official with the  Ansarullah movement, which has been defending the country against the Saudi-led alliance. "My family left for Sana’a yesterday but I stayed behind alone to protect our home from looters," he added.

Ansarullah warns invaders

In a stern warning to the coalition, Ansarullah's leader Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi has pledged that Yemeni forces will do all in their power to push back invading forces and reclaim captured areas.

He told Yemen’s al-Masirah television network, "The western coast will turn into a big swamp for the invaders.”

Houthi urged Yemeni troops to "confront the forces of tyranny," warning they would recapture areas taken by Emirati-led forces by "bringing huge numbers [of fighters] to the battle."

Al-Masirah earlier reported that the Ansarullah had hit a coalition ship off the coast of Hudaydah with two missiles.

UNSC urges port to remain open

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Thursday rejected a call by Sweden, a non-permanent member, for a freeze to the military operations to allow time for talks on Ansarullah' “withdrawal” from the port, AFP said.

Council members, however, expressed their "deep concern about the risks to the humanitarian situation" and called for the port to remain open, said Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia, who holds the council’s presidency.

Yemen’s Health Ministry says around 600,000 people have either died or been injured since the start of the war. The country has also been brought to the edge of famine driven by an all-out Saudi-led blockade of its other land and sea terminals.

Rights organizations have been criticizing several Western states including the US and Britain for providing arms to Saudi Arabia and its allies during the course of the war.

SS