Date: Jun 22, 2018 Source: The Daily Star Arab-led coalition faces tough battle for Hudaida seaport KHOKHA, Yemen: The Arab-led coalition riding high over its successful capture of Hudaida airport from the Iran-aligned Houthis faces a daunting challenge to seize Yemen’s main seaport, the ultimate prize in the biggest offensive of the war. Military sources said the army, backed by troops from the United Arab Emirates, had been sending backup troops to the area ahead of a major offensive to close in on the Red Sea port. “Our preparations are in their final stages for the advance on the port,” a military source told AFP, requesting anonymity. If there is no breakthrough in U.N. efforts to reach a political deal, the coalition has two direct paths to the port: from the airport via residential areas, where urban warfare would neutralize its air supremacy, or a sea landing that would open it to Houthi missiles and mines. “So far, judging from the fight for the airport, it looks like the Houthis will put up quite a fight,” Adam Baron of the European Council on Foreign Relations said. “The coalition is likely to aim to avoid urban areas to the greatest extent possible, perhaps opting to cut off roads to trap Houthi fighters and prevent them from sending in supplies and reinforcements.” Yemeni anti-Houthi troops led by UAE forces and supported by warplanes seized control of the airport Wednesday, in what a senior Emirati official said was a “military and psychological blow” to the Houthis. They are now consolidating their hold by pounding Houthi fortifications nearby. The Houthis hold well-fortified positions in the Red Sea city to protect the key supply line to the core northern territory they control, including the capital, Sanaa. Beyond the airport in poor neighborhoods like Al-Rabsa and Ghalil, Houthi snipers and land mines lie in wait. Armed mostly with AK-47 assault rifles, the Houthis have gained valuable experience in a series of guerrilla wars. This gives them an advantage in street-to-street combat if fighting extends to the densely populated areas of Hudaida, a city home to around 600,000 people.“The plan is to secure the airport and then advance on the non-coastal road from Beit al-Faqih to take control of the highway leading to Sanaa and Al-Hajjah road as well,” a pro-coalition Yemeni military source told Reuters. “This will allow us to control everything without even taking the port.” However, before reaching the main road that leads to Sanaa, coalition forces would have to cross some 10 kilometers of industrial and residential areas, where they could face fire from both inside the city and surrounding Houthi-held towns. UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told Reuters after the airport capture that the coalition’s plan was “to squeeze” the group but declined to discuss military operations. Khokha, located 90 kilometers south of Hudaida, was one of the few gains by the coalition in the 3-year-old war and is now one of the resupply centers for troops on the front lines. The UAE has set up large military facilities in Khokha, and in neighboring Mokha, guarded by Yemeni and Sudanese troops alongside tanks and Patriot surface-to-air missile batteries. The UAE is leading the offensive with a 20,000-strong force consisting mostly of Yemenis gathered from southern separatists, Red Sea coastal plain fighters and followers of a nephew of the late President Ali Abdullah Saleh. These forces have captured a series of western coastal towns to form a narrow strip of control from the bases to the port, but the road is often blocked by Houthi attacks. “The Houthis block the road to Hudaida to isolate [coalition] troops around the airport. Then UAE Apache helicopters intervene to unblock the road. But as soon as they are gone, the Houthis come back again,” a military source said. “It is a cat-and-mouse game that never ends.”