The UK’s Department for International Development has told aid groups to make contingency plans for an imminent attack on the strategic port of Hodeidah, a move that could endanger humanitarian supplies for the entire famine-struck country.



The note to aid agencies reads: “We are doing everything we can through diplomatic channels to discourage an assault on Hodeidah. However despite these actions, a military assault now looks imminent.

“The Emiratis have informed us today that they will now give a 3-day grace period for the UN [and their partners] to leave the city. Please take all precautions necessary to prepare for this and let us know if there is anything we can do to assist you in any way. We are thinking of you and your staff at this very difficult time.”

The UK minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said in a tweet: “Extremely concerned that life-saving organizations are not getting the security guarantees they need to work safely in Yemen. All parties to the conflict must allow safe, rapid and unhindered humanitarian access to all parts of Yemen”.

It appears that pressure on the UAE to agree a ceasefire is not having much effect, and the US government is unwilling to go as far as damaging ties with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over an issue that is so important to Riyadh.

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The UN issued a public statement on Friday saying that in its worst-case scenario planningas many as 250,000 civilians would be killed as a result of an attack on Hodeidah. The Red Sea port supplies more than 80% of the aid for Yemen, including commercial and humanitarian aid.

Houthi forces have held the port for more than two years, and the US and Saudi coalition see it as a route through which the rebels have been smuggling arms, including missiles with which to attack Saudi Arabia.

Reports on Saturday suggested the Lower Al-Jahah area, south of the city, had been captured in fierce fighting. Local experts have said an attack on Hodeidah would be “Yemen’s Aleppo”.

Bipartisan efforts in the US Senate are under way to tell the UAE and Saudi Arabia that proceeding may result in US assistance to the Saudi/UAE coalition in Yemen being severed.

Senators Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat, and Todd Young, a Republican, have already raised that threat. “The civil war and the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in Yemen are inflicting unacceptable damage to our national security interests and exacerbating heartbreaking human suffering,” they said. “The United States must use its influence to persuade Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to pursue an urgent diplomatic solution to end the civil war.”

The chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, Tom Tugendhat, also said he was “hearing very worrying reports that UAE forces may be about to strike Hodeida. This would be a mistake and have massive humanitarian and environmental consequences.”

Military planners have said an attack was not only likely to cause a humanitarian catastrophe, but that it would be a strategic mistake militarily. NGOs have flagged that any military assault that results in obstructions to humanitarian aid could make parties to the conflict liable for UN sanctions under resolution 2216.

Martin Griffiths, the UN special envoy for Yemen, has been holding talks with all sides to try to broker a peace settlement, but he fears a major new military assault could make his plans appear redundant.

Lise Grande, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said on Friday that humanitarian agencies “fear, in a prolonged worst case, that as many as 250,000 people may lose everything – even their lives”. As many as 600,000 civilians live in and around Hodeidah.

“Cutting off imports through Hodeidah for any length of time will put Yemen’s population at extreme, unjustifiable risk,” Grande said.

David Miliband, president and CEO of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), said: “The port of Hodeidah is a humanitarian lifeline for the people of Yemen. It is imperative that humanitarian supplies are maintained. We repeat, again, that an assault on Hodeidah is a grave threat to life and livelihood. We urge the UN security council to meet to demand immediate assurances to maintain this critical facility.”

The IRC added that during the first three months of 2018, Hodeidah was estimated to account for more food imports than the next three largest sea ports combined. It said current levels of food and fuel imports into Yemen were already insufficient to meet the basic needs of the population, and that there was no viable alternative to replace Hodeidah.

“Hodeidah is a living community of 400,000 people, including IRC staff working on critical, life-saving health and clean water and sanitation projects,” Miliband said. “Some residents have already left the city, others cannot afford to do so. These people have no option but to wait and see how events outside their control play out.”