Saudi-Led Coalition Prepared to Employ ‘Calibrated Force’ to Advance Yemen Port Agreement: UAE, Reports Reuters

DUBAI (Reuters) – A senior official from the United Arab Emirates announced on Wednesday that the Saudi-led coalition is prepared to use “calibrated force” to compel the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement to withdraw from Yemen’s Hodeidah port city, as stipulated in a U.N.-sponsored agreement.

Despite a month-long truce, the conflicting parties in Yemen have not managed to pull troops from the key port, raising concerns about the potential for a full-scale assault on Hodeidah, which could lead to widespread famine. The Houthis currently control Hodeidah, while other Yemeni factions, supported by the coalition aiming to restore the internationally recognized government, are positioned on the city’s outskirts.

Anwar Gargash, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, indicated that the Western-backed Sunni Arab coalition targeted ten Houthi training camps located outside the Hodeidah governorate on Wednesday. He stated in a tweet, “The coalition is prepared to use more calibrated force to encourage Houthi compliance with the Stockholm Agreement.”

Gargash emphasized the need for the U.N. and the international community to urge the Houthis to cease violations, facilitate aid deliveries, and proceed with the planned withdrawal from Hodeidah city and ports, as agreed upon.

U.N. envoy Martin Griffiths is actively negotiating between the involved parties to salvage the deal, which represents a significant diplomatic achievement in the nearly four-year conflict that has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and brought Yemen to the brink of starvation.