Latest map update of strategic Hodeideh battle

The Hodeideh battle is still ongoing in west Yemen, despite repeated calls by the international community to halt the Gulf-led offensive.

Backed by heavy airstrikes from the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, the UAE-backed Southern Resistance Army and Yemeni Republican Guard have been trying to capture the strategic Hodeideh Airport for the better part of the week.

However, despite the relentless bombardment of the Hodeideh Airport by the Arab Coalition, the Houthi forces have managed to hold onto this imperative installation located just south of the provincial capital.

The Yemeni Republican Guard did enter the Hodeideh Airport yesterday, but they are still confined to the southern part of the installation.

While the ground gains at the Hodeideh Airport have been limited, the damage to the installation has been great, as the Saudi-led Coalition has launched over 100 airstrikes over this site in the past 72 hours.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has called on the Houthi forces to surrender the Hodeideh Airport; however, the latter has refused to handover the installation, vowing to defend it until their last man.

For the Houthi forces, losing the Hodeideh Airport would be devastating because it would give the Yemeni Republican Guard and their allies access to the southern part of the provincial capital.

Meanwhile, in the Kilo 16 area, the UAE-backed troops have scored some important gains, as their forces seized the imperative junction along the coastal highway from the Houthi fighters.

The UAE-backed troops, primarily the Yemeni Republican Guard, are trying to take full control of the Kilo 16 region in an effort to reach the southern part of the provincial capital from the coastal highway.

With battle waging across several axes in the Hodeideh Governorate, the province has been declared unsafe by several NGOs due to the potential humanitarian catastrophe that is expected to follow if the UAE-backed troops capture this region of west Yemen.