Major Protest in Coastal Hodeidah Against Saudi Control
YemenExtra
M.A.
A mass rally took place in the coastal governorate of Hodeidah on Thursday to declare mobilization against Saudi attempts to take over Hodeidah, particularly the very strategic strait of Bab Al-Mandab by the Red Sea.
The protest occurred in Al-Kurneesh region under the slogan, “Readiness and preparation for coastal battles”, local source reported for YemenExtra.
The participants affirmed their preparation to confront the forces of the Saudi-led coalition and all its plots to occupy the coasts of Yemen.
At the same time, they called upon the Yemeni society to repel the plans f the Saudi regime and its allies.
The Saudi-led coalition first launched its war on Yemen on March 25, 2015, in an attempt to restore the ousted Saudi-backed president, Hadi and to force the Yemeni revolutionaries aka Ansar Allah to back down.
Latest reports confirmed the death and injury of 30,000 Yemenis as a result of the waged war. The coalition involves 10 countries or more with the support of the United States as declared.
War has been escalating reaching Yemen’s coasts, especially Hodeidah governorate, particularly Mocha. On one of the days witnessing the flames of war, Yemeni Almasirah channel reported 300 airstrikes waged by the fighter jets of the coalition on Mocha.
Regarding Bab Al-Mandab strait, it is located between Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula as well as Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa. It acts as a connector between the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. The strait also functions as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea as well as the Suez Canal.
Based on an 2006 estimation, 3.3 million barrels of oil passed through the strait daily, out of a world total of nearly 43 million barrels each day transferred by tankers.
Although the Yemeni revolutionaries never threatened to hinder the operation of the strait, the Saudi-led coalition insists on keeping it under their supervision. In addition, it bombarded all of the Yemeni ports, leaving Hodeidah’s port as the only option.
The already poor country now depends on incomes through Hodeidah port as their major source of living. The current air, land and sea blockade makes it harder for the almost 30 million Yemenis during their daily lives.
Earlier, the United Nations Resident Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick said, there is no way to find other alternatives for aid in case Hodeidah port was targeted.
As Yemenis protest against the Saudis targeting Hodeidah’s port and controlling Hodeidah, they have finally decided to head to the battlefields as an act of defense to insure the ability of receiving necessary incomes and save the many children threatened by malnutrition as well as famine.