Yemeni Citizens Say Hodeidah Battle Brings Sanaa Closer to Freedom

Yemeni Citizens Say Hodeidah Battle Brings Sanaa Closer to Freedom

Sanaa residents are looking forward to military operations launched by national joint forces and pro-government Arab Coalition forces on Wednesday to liberate Hodeidah and its strategic ports.

An atmosphere of joy and relief was registered for most citizens, accompanied by a rise in panic among Houthi militia supporters.

Houthi leaders intensified their campaigns for recruitment and raising funds.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, a number of Sanaa residents expressed joy towards advances made by pro-government forces, stressing that the liberation of Hodeidah, a coastal city and the restoration of its vital port to legitimate control is half way towards the liberation of coup-run Sanaa and other provinces under Houthi hegemony.

Some citizens cited retaking Hodeidah as the beginning of the end of the coup, and a step closer to the restoration of state institutions to constitutional authorities.

Communications sector employee Mohammed said that the battle of Hodeidah would be a pivotal point in the course of the liberation of the whole of Yemen, which he described as transgressed upon by “Iranian militias.”

In his view, retaking the port leads to depriving Iran-allied Houthis to the huge financial income it derives from controlling imports coming through Hodeidah, as well as their ability to seize humanitarian aid from international organizations and their targeting of the group's followers and militants.

“Hodeidah is the real lever for the survival and steadfastness of insurgents, not only through its port, but also through accessing a number of sea points along the western coast of Yemen, " he said.

“The liberation of Hodeidah is the cornerstone of overthrowing the financial empire built by Houthis,” said Ibrahim, another Sanaa citizen.

“It means the beginning of the end of the group and the elimination of its project, which has tired the Yemenis and led to the destruction of their state,” he added.

Despite the joy in the faces of most of the population in Sana'a, citizens fear a consequent disruption of the port's work and the disruption of the flow of goods and fuel to Sanaa and other provinces under militia rule.