Under Humanitarian Guise.. Hodeida Port new outlet for Houthi terrorism

With Yemen suffering the world’s worst humanitarian disaster due to the terrorism of the Iranian-backed Houthi militias, who control several areas of the country and displaced thousands, the refugee sites of citizens through which aid is delivered are under the control of these militias, turning them into another door for terrorism, including the port of Hodeidah.

The Hodeida port road, the only way for UN humanitarian agencies to transport humanitarian aid, is under Houthi control, while other ports in the liberated areas of Mocha, Aden and Al Mukalla have not been used, raising numerous questions about this and the continuation of that situation, raising suspicions of collusion with Houthi.

These questions and suspicions were fueled by the adoption, on Monday, of a resolution by the UN Security Council, under pressure from the UAE and with support from Russia, extending the embargo on the delivery of weapons to Yemen to all Houthi rebels, after it was limited to specific individuals and companies.

Diplomats interpreted Russia’s vote in favor of the resolution as the result of an agreement between Moscow and Abu Dhabi that Moscow intended to ensure that the UAE abstained in the Security Council vote against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The UK-drafted resolution, which extends the arms embargo until 28 February 2023, stipulates that the entity specified in its annexes, the Houthis, shall be subject to procedures regarding the arms embargo imposed on Yemen since 2015.

This focus on the Houthi is a precedent that is likely to cause the UN to lose its neutrality in the conflict, according to experts who also consider that all consequences of the resolution have yet to be explored.

This coincides with Yemeni Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Saghir bin Aziz’s demand that the port of Hodeidah not remain under the control of Houthi militias, stressing that keeping the port of Hodeidah under the control of Houthi militias will only reap evil, death and destruction from its Yemeni backers.

The Houthi militias are using the port of Hodeida for various military purposes, chiefly receiving weapons, technical equipment, and foreign experts smuggled by its allies, primarily Iran, in addition to being used as a launch pad for naval terrorist attacks against international shipping, according to numerous uncovered evidence.

The Houthis are also using the port as a cover for their military operations, by disrupting the passage of aid ships and triggering a humanitarian crisis to ensure the port remains under UN immunity under the Stockholm Agreement, so that aid deliveries through Hodeida port must cease to ensure that Houthi-supporting countries are not exploited by arms smuggling.