Battle of Hodeidah:

Wishful Thinking Is One Thing, and Reality Another

Rasa - As if US and UK forces were not enough, now French special forces are also helping the Saudis and Emiratis to destroy as many lives as possible in the besieged port city of Hodeidah in Yemen.

News ID: 438317

Date: 19 June 2018 - 21:53

RNA - Ignoring international aid groups’ warnings that the attack on the city, which is under the control of Ansarullah resistance fighters (Houthis), could exacerbate hunger in an impoverished and war-torn nation already on the brink of famine, the French forces are helping the Saudi-led US-backed coalition forces to continue the assault on the Red Sea port city.

To that end, French newspaper Le Figaro is reporting that French special forces have been deployed to Yemen. The troops are said to be present with Emirati troops on the ground. It is interesting, however, that French officials have been making many statements denying involvement in the fighting, when it turns out they do have ground troops active in Yemen, embedded with the Emiratis, themselves top coalition members.

This mirrors similar denials from the Pentagon that the US is participating in the war, when US troops are operating along the border and the US and UK are helping the Saudis select targets to bomb. This is likely because the Yemen war is illegal and wildly unpopular internationally, and Western governments are desperate to avoid complicity in Saudi human rights violations and war crimes. At the same time, Western governments seem unable to resist the allure of joining the Saudi-led war, and selling the Saudis and Emiratis billions in arms.

Sadly, this greed has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations estimating that 22 million people - three-quarters of the country’s population - urgently need humanitarian aid. But aid groups have seen their worst fears realized this week in Hodeidah - the entry point for 70 to 80 percent of the food, medicine and aid supplies entering Yemen.

It’s interesting to note that more than a dozen former White House and State Department officials, humanitarian leaders, and Yemen experts, have already characterized the offensive as a major failure by the US to restrain its coalition partners, who are largely dependent on American weapons, intelligence and logistical support. These sources say the attack is a sign that the US is allowing Saudi Arabia and the UAE to drive America’s failed policy decisions in Yemen.

A- The resistance fighters have already faced six rounds of conflict with Saudi and its proxy forces and they survived, even repelled many other military incursions. The battle of Hodeidah is not any different. The Saudis and Emiratis and their allies have lost the moral ground to handle the complex ground. The fighting is yet another huge debacle for the hapless Saudi army and allies.

B- Getting ground troops into the city is a big problem for the invading forces, as Ansarullah forces have blockaded the main road into the city, effectively preventing vehicles from entering. This means the ground invasion is largely going to have to be on foot, as the resistance has managed to prevent naval landings near the city as well.

C- A protracted battle in the city will add to the humanitarian disaster, as an estimated 250,000 people remain within the city. Moreover, while ships are still able to access the port itself, it’s not going to be easy to transport that aid elsewhere across northern Yemen with heavy fighting around the outskirts.

D- It is not all doom and gloom. The city's spirit has not been broken. Despite the events of these past few days, there has been a strong form of resilience among the city's residents. They are even watching the World Cup games in the parks to escape from the heat of their homes, even as the Saudi shelling goes on. People are cooperating fully with the resistance army and popular committees. This is while displacement so far has been restricted to the areas on the outskirts of the city that have been under constant bombardment.

E- What civilians fear most is the possibility that the port would be closed or come under siege. There is talk that if that happens, then the humanitarian aid - food and fuel - will not be able to make their way in. This is the main reason why the United Nations is calling on the US-backed Saudi-led coalition to stop the fighting.

F- It’s a waste of time for the Saudis and their Western allies to argue that taking the town will put political pressure on Ansarullah and enable the free flow of humanitarian aid through the port. They did promise that at the beginning of the war. Three years later, none of those promises have panned out. Even if anyone sees the assault on Hodeidah as a military success, he or she should know that the offensive is devastating to Yemeni civilians. The resistance front will live to fight another day.

G- Rather than preventing the offensive and giving peace a chance, the US, UK and French governments have joined forces and given Saudi Arabia and the UAE the green light to potentially kill hundreds of thousands of people with no political strategy or end goal. This makes them complicit in Saudi-Emirati war crimes in Hodeidah.

Wishful thinking is one thing, and reality another. French support for the Saudi debacle will only escalate the conflict, heightening the Saudis’ feelings of impunity and condemning Yemenis to endless war and increasing hardship. As maintained by the United Nations, the best way forward is for the Saudi coalition to “give peace a chance”. Put more bluntly, the battle of Hodeidah will not rout the Ansarullah fighters as the nation defenders, much less bring the resistance front to the negotiating table. If this is true, no amount of wishful thinking will change it.

847/940