Eingeschlossen im Jemen

Weitgehend unbeachtet von der so genannten Weltöffentlichkeit geht der Bürgerkrieg im Jemen unvermindert weiter. Man hört mal etwas, wenn eine neue Offensive gestartet wird, die UN vor Choleraepidemien und Hunger warnt oder aus Schulbusse statt Gegner Ziele von Luftangriffen werden.

Seit Monaten herrscht eine instabile Waffenruhe in Hodeidah, einer dicht bevölkerten Stadt, die noch von Huthis-Rebellen gehalten wird. Seit einigen Tagen befinden sich Regierungstruppen und vor allem ihre Unterstützer in den Emiraten und Saudi Arabien in einer erneuten Offensive, wie Middle East Eye berichtet:

After weeks of uneasy impasse, fighting south of Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah has flared up once again, as pro-government forces storm the adjacent city of Duraihami.

The pro-government forces, backed by Saudi and Emirati air power, have been besieging Duraihami since Sunday, and on Tuesday they launched an attack to prize it from the Houthi rebels.

However, the city is heavily populated, with civilians struggling to escape as they are hemmed in by gunfire and blocked roads. 

Poor internet coverage has badly hampered Duraihami residents’ ability to contact the outside world, though early Thursday morning Middle East Eye was able to get through to one man stuck in the beleaguered suburb.

"There are street clashes in the town and many people were killed and wounded and no one has helped them," Ahmed Mubarak told MEE.

Though some civilians have managed to flee Duraihami, Mubarak says they were only able to do so because they escaped before the fighting engulfed their neighbourhoods.

"The air strikes, rockets and snipers target the city randomly, so if we leave our houses, the fighting will kill us immediately. We still have food in our houses but the food will run out if the organisations will not help soon".

A source in the Amaliqa Brigade, a pro-government militia fighting in Hodeidah, told MEE his forces have captured much of the city and expect to hold it all soon.

"We know that some civilians have been killed in the battles on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we advise civilians to stay in the basements of their houses and prevent the Houthis from using them as human shields."

Conversely, the Houthis accused the pro-government forces and the Saudi-led coalition backing them of targeting civilians.