At least 55 people have been killed in 24 hours in bombings, raids and fighting in the western Yemeni province of Hondaida, local, military and medical sources said on Tuesday.
Pro-government troops in Yemen, backed by forces of the United Arab Emirates, a pillar of the Saudi-led military alliance, launched a large-scale operation on June 13 to oust Shi'ite insurgents , through which most food and most of the humanitarian aid in the country is imported.
The UAE again demanded the withdrawal of the rebels from Honda on Tuesday, a day before UN special envoy Martin Griffiths met with Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi in Aden as part of efforts to reach an agreement. avoid a military escalation.
According to local and hospital sources, eight people were killed when an airstrike targeted a bus on a road in Zambid, in the southern part of the province. It is unknown at this time whether the bus was carrying civilians or guerrillas.
Six Houthi fighters were killed when another raid in the same area destroyed the car they were riding in, according to the same sources. According to medical and military sources, 38 Shiite insurgents and three pro-government fighters have been killed in the past 24 hours in bombings around the airport in the provincial capital, at the southern outskirts of the city, as well as in the Tuhaita and Jarahi areas, further south.
The new losses increase to at least 429 the number of dead in the hostilities of the last almost two weeks.
The United Arab Emirates on Tuesday rejected any UN-brokered agreement if it did not include the departure of the Houthis from Honda. As of June 13, Abu Dhabi has been demanding the "unconditional" departure of Shiite rebels from the city.
The UAE said it did not intend to enter the port at this time, nor would it invade the city to avoid heavy casualties among civilians. Yemen depends on imports for 90% of the food consumed by its population, and 70% of this quantity passes through Hondaida, on the country's shores of the Red Sea.