Aden, Sanaa, Hodeidah – Bassam al-Kadi and Asharq Al-Awsat

Houthis militias stormed on Thursday a World Food Program warehouse in Yemen’s Hodeidah city, looting its aid relief and abducting two staff members.

Witnesses said that the Iran-backed militants raided the warehouse in the “Kilo 7” area in the southeastern part of the city and took two of the WFP staff to an unknown location.

The UN agency has yet to make an official statement over this new Houthi violation.

Local sources said the militants were looting such warehouses to distribute food on their fighters and loyalists. They were also seeking to win over new supporters.

Higher Relief Council director Abdul Raqib Fath condemned the Houthis’ ongoing violations against UN and international relief agencies operating in Yemen.

He deemed their raid on the WFP warehouse a war crime and breach of international and humanitarian laws, reported the Saba news agency.

He called on the international community and aid groups to condemn this “terrorist act” and take all necessary measures to deter the militants from meddling in relief efforts.

On the battlefield, the militias continued to suffer major defeats.

In southern Hodeidah, at least 80 of their members were killed or injured as the legitimate forces and resistance, backed by Saudi-led Arab coalition air strikes, continued to sweep the region.

Yemeni military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the legitimate forces made a 15-km advances east towards the al-Faza region. They have also seized complete control of the center of the Tahita directorate and were making their way to Zabid, Hodeidah’s second largest city.

Meanwhile, clashes continued throughout Hodeidah’s coastal regions.

The military sources added that the legitimate forces and resistance, in coordination with the Arab coalition, have taken the decision to launch the decisive battle for the eastern part of the west coast before kicking off the operation to liberate Hodeidah city and its strategic port.

They are keen to preserve relief routes and cut off Houthi supply routes.

They revealed that military operations will focus on liberating Tahita, Zabid, al-Jarahi and Beit al-Faqih, which would effectively mean seizing complete control of the southern Hodeidah countryside ahead of storming the province’s main city.

In the city, witnesses said that the Houthis continued to block roads with sand barriers, plant mines and deploy heavy weapons in southern neighborhoods.

Arab coalition jets, meanwhile, dropped leaflets over Hodeidah city, warning locals to avoid the area unless necessary. They were also urged to avoid Houthi positions and gatherings.

The Houthis countered such warnings, by forcing residents to stay in their homes, barring them from evacuating the city. They stopped a convoy of 25 buses that was transporting locals out of the city towards Ibb province and forced them to return to Hodeidah.