Press TV - Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, loyal to ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, claim that they have seized the airport in the port city of Hudaydah from the Houthi Ansarullah fighters.
Brigadier Abdul Salaam al-Shehi, a Saudi-led coalition commander in Yemen's Red Sea coast, said in a video posted by the UAEs officialWAMnews agency on Wednesday that the Hudaydah airport is completely cleared and under control.
However, Mohammad al-Bukhaiti, a top figure in the Houthi movements Supreme Political Council, had early on Wednesday rejected reports of the airports seizure by the Saudi-led aggressor.
Shehis remarks came one day after the Saudi-led troops announced that they had entered the main compound of the Hudaydah airport amid a military offensiveto capture the flashpoint port city.
The Hudaydah airport lies just eight kilometers from the citys port, through which three-quarters of Yemens imports pass, providing a lifeline for millionsof people.
Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, the United Arab Emirates and allied militants loyal to the former Yemeni government launched the Hudaydah assault on June 13 despite warnings that it would compound the impoverished nations humanitarian crisis.
The Houthis and allied armed forces, however, said that they have dealt a heavy blow to the aggressors, inflicting heavy losses on the invaders.
The UN says fierce clashes in the port city have driven 5,200 families from their homes.
The Saudi-led coalition, which has been waging war against Yemen since early 2015, claims that the Houthis areusingHudaydah for weapons delivery,an allegation rejected by the fighters.
