Yemeni forces backed by Riyadh claim to have taken control of resorts near Hodeida

Last-ditch efforts are under way by the UN to persuade the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen not to launch a deadly assault on the Houthi-controlled port of Hodeida and to allow time for a deal to be agreed to preserve the port’s role in distributing humanitarian aid.

Yemeni forces backed by Riyadh claimed on Sunday to have already taken control of the tourist resorts in Nukhaila, in Duraihimi province, just west of Hodeida, setting up the possibility of a prolonged siege that could slow or block humanitarian supplies heading out of the port to millions in need across the country.

Saudi sources claimed the UN special envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, was in the Houthi-controlled capital, Sana’a, to discuss the possibility of international control of the port.

Downing Street said Theresa May had spoken to the Saudi crown prince Mohammmed bin Salman on Saturday and both sides welcomed Griffiths’ efforts to negotiate a settlement.

The UK government is believed not to support an attack on Hodeida, but ministers have not explicitly warned the Saudis off. They did issue an explicit warning the last time an attack was considered, two years ago, however.

Saudi Arabia and allies including the United Arab Emirates have been involved in the conflict in Yemen for three years, claiming they are trying to restore a UN-recognised government and oust Iranian-backed Houthi rebels from Sana’a and the Red Sea ports.

Both sides in the civil war have been accused of war crimes, but the UK has continued to defend the sale of arms exports to Saudi Arabia on the basis there is not a serious risk of of UK weaponry being used to commit such atrocities.

Jan Egeland, the head of the Norway Refugee Council, said an attack on Hodeida would be a disaster since nearly 80% of humanitarian aid and food was distributed through the port, and its capture would give the Saudis a stranglehold on the country. As many as 20 million people in Yemen are in need of humanitarian aid.

“France, the US and UK had all agreed that an attack on the Rotterdam of Yemen, Hodeida, would destroy the lifeline to millions. So how come the forces they sell arms to now are only 15km from the port?” he said.

In a counter-warning, Houthi forces suggested that the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi, was no longer safe from its missiles.

Medical sources on Saturday said more than 100 soldiers and civilians have been killed in the assault on Hodeida in the last week.

Qatar, a former Saudi ally now locked in a year-long dispute with Riyadh, has said the Saudis are using the Yemen war to try to drag more countries into a conflict with Iran.

The defence minister, Khalid bin Mohammad al-Attiyah, told an international security conference in Singapore that even though the two nations had “a lot of differences”, Doha would not “fuel a war” in the region. “Is it wise to call the US and Israel to go and fight Iran? Iran is next door,” he said.

In an apparent reference to Saudi Arabia, he said: “If any third party is trying to push the region or some country in the region to start a war with Iran, this will be very dangerous.”