Saudi-led Invaders Face Heroic Resistance in Push to Seize Yemen’s Al-Hudaydah

Local Editor

Yemeni officials announced that a massive Saudi push against al-Hudaydah on the west coast of Yemen was repelled, with a number of Sudanese mercenaries killed or captured.  

Based on reports, fighting reached residential streets on Sunday, with locals and Ansarullh revolutionaries mounting fierce resistance to the invaders. 

Meanwhile, medics and military sources reported that more than 60 combatants were killed on both sides over the past 24 hours.

A source with the Saudi-led militants was quoted by AFP as saying that the toll included more than 40 Ansarullah fighters and about 20 loyalists to the former Yemeni regime.

The invaders have been pushing to enter the strategic port city since 10 days ago, trying to advance on al-Hudaydah's docks which are the lifeline for vital humanitarian aid to the impoverished country.

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have deployed thousands of additional troops after seeing their campaign launched in June to seize al-Hudaydah thwarted by Ansarullah fighters and their allies in the Yemeni army. 

On Saturday, reports suggested the invaders had seized the main hospital in the city. The invading forces also saw the Jabaliyah and Matineh areas in al-Hudaydah retaken by the city's protectors.

According to AFP, al-Hudaydah fighters have put up fierce resistance to the Saudi push towards the city's vital docks, which are the point of entry for 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN-supervised humanitarian aid.

The recapture of Jabaliyah cut supply lines to the invaders, drawing praise from Sana'a-based Yemeni Defense Minister Major General Mohamed Nasser al-Atefi.

"The aggressors were defeated with all their power and equipment," he said in remarks aired on al-Masirah TV as he praised "the children of Tihamah," referring to the general area in Yemen's west coast.

"The children of Tihamah proved to the Yemeni nation that they are ready to sacrifice their lives in defending the west coast. Their cooperation and solidarity with the army and the Popular Committees defeated the aggressors' advance," he said. 

The Popular Committees is referred to a coalition of Ansarullah resistance fighters and their allies in the Yemeni army who have been resisting the Saudi invasion since 2015. 

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team