UN envoy lands in Yemen to urge Houthis to cede control of Hodeidah

The UN envoy for Yemen arrived in the rebel-held capital Sanaa on Saturday for talks on the key aid port of Hodeidah where Houthi militias are battling a regional coalition.

Martin Griffiths is expected to propose to Houthis that they cede control of the Red Sea port to a UN-supervised committee to avoid further fighting with advancing government troops which are backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He did not speak to reporters upon arriving at Sanaa international airport.

More than 70 percent of Yemeni imports pass through Hodeida’s docks.

The Yemeni government and its allies launched their offensive on Wednesday.

The militias have controlled the Hodeidah region with its population of some 600,000 people since 2014.

The capture of Hodeida would be the coalition’s biggest victory of the war so far.