A column of Yemeni pro-government forces and armoured vehicles arrived in al-Durayhimi district, nine km south of Hodeidah international airport on June 13, 2018, ahead of an offensive to retake the airport. (AFP PHOTO)
ADEN, Yemen, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally-backed government on Saturday entered the only airport in the country's western port city of Hodeidah, following fierce fighting with the Iranian-backed Shiite Houthis, a military official told Xinhua.
The "government forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stormed the airport from different directions after several hours of heavy shelling and besieging the area," the source in Hodiedah said on condition of anonymity.
"Sporadic fighting is still taking place with some Houthi pockets inside the airport buildings that are all surrounded by government troops," the source added.
The UAE-backed Yemeni troops are currently tightening the noose on the remnants of the Houthi fighters in the airport area, and engineering units started to dismantle large network of Iranian-made land mines planted there, according to the Yemeni source.
Residents told Xinhua that Houthi fighters laid thousands of landmines inside local farms and around residential areas in a desperate attempt to delay the advance of the UAE-backed Yemeni troops.
The media center for Yemen's armed forces confirmed in a statement published on its Twitter account that "national armed forces backed by the resistance fighters and the Arab coalition liberated Hodeidah international airport from the grip of the Houthi militia."
With support of the UAE armed forces operating as part of the Saudi-led Arab coalition, the Yemeni government forces gained control of the Hodeidah airport overnight, imposing a tight besiege on the Houthi fighters, according to local army commanders.
The commanders told Xinhua by phone that the Houthi defence and fortifications within the airport's perimeters and the surrounding areas collapsed easily after intensified airstrikes by the government forces.
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Iranian-allied Houthi rebels since March 2015. More than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the war that has displaced over 3 million people and pushed the impoverished country into the brink of famine.
Hodeidah is a vital lifeline for the delivery of humanitarian supplies to the Houthi-controlled northern provinces, including the country's capital Sanaa which is also under Houthi control.
