CAIRO: Yemen’s official news agency reported that the coalition forces were advancing toward the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, which provides a lifeline to Houthi militias.
SABA reported on Sunday that government forces have taken control of the town of Tahita in Hodeidah province.
Forces loyal to the internationally recognized government are hoping to exploit the collapse of the Houthis’ alliance with fighters loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was killed by the Houthis earlier this month.
On Sunday, sources from his General People’s Congress (GPC) party said that Houthis have buried the body of Saleh in Sanaa, allowing only a handful of relatives to attend.
The source said the Houthis allowed less than 10 people from Saleh’s relatives to attend the night-time burial in Sanaa, but gave no details on the exact location.
GPC Secretary-General Aref Al-Zouka, who was killed with Saleh, was buried on Saturday in his native Al-Saeed district of Shabwa province in southern Yemen after the Houthis handed over his body to tribal leaders, media and GPC officials said.
Relatives said on Thursday that Saleh’s family had refused conditions demanded by the Houthis for handing over the body. Some said they wanted to bury the body in the courtyard of a mosque he had built near the presidential compound in southern Sanaa.
Saleh ruled Yemen for 33 years. He remained in politics as the head of the GPC, Yemen’s largest political party.
Yemen govt forces push toward Hodeidah port
Yemen govt forces push toward Hodeidah port
Pro-Palestinian flotilla announces new mission to Gaza
- Israel controls Gaza's borders and scrutinises all aid coming into the territory
TUNIS: A flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists who attempted to reach Gaza last year will set sail for the besieged territory again next month, one member told AFP on Friday.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said the new mission set for March 29 would be "the largest coordinated humanitarian intervention for Palestine in history" and will mobilise "thousands from over 100 countries".
"We will be sailing from Barcelona, Tunis, Italy and many other ports not yet made public," Brazilian activist Thiago Avila told AFP.
The group said an overland convoy would also leave for Gaza on the same day, without specifying from where.
The campaigners sought to break an Israeli blockade by delivering aid to Gaza by sea last October, before they were intercepted by Israel, detained and deported.
Israel controls Gaza's borders and scrutinises all aid coming into the territory.
The activists describe their actions as a "non-violent response to genocide, siege, mass starvation, and the destruction of civilian life in Gaza".
