Saudi-led forces launch assault in Yemen

The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen’s exiled government launched an assault on Wednesday on the port city of Hodeida. Videos showed convoys of vehicles entering the town early Wednesday as gunfire echoed in the background. Aid agencies have warned of the implications of a battle in the Red Sea port city, the main entry point for food and medicine in the war-ravaged country teetering on the brink of famine. Shiite Houthi rebels have maintained control of Hodeida since 2015. The exiled government said it launched the assault to drive out the rebels after “exhausting all peaceful and political means,” according to a government statement. “Liberation of Hodeida is a milestone in our struggle to regain Yemen from the militias.” Saudi-run satellite news stations reported airstrikes and shelling by naval ships under the operation termed “Golden Victory.” About 70 percent of food and the majority of humanitarian aid and fuel supplies enter Yemen through Hodeida. The United Nations earlier warned that as many as 250,000 people could lose everything, including their lives, if the assault occurred. The UN and several other aid groups pulled their staff from the city ahead of the fighting.