|
ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 24-- A fresh wave of fighting erupted between the Yemeni government forces and the Houthi rebels in Yemen's western port city of Hodeidah just a few hours after the departure of the United Nations special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths. Both warring parties ignored the UN calls aimed at de-escalating the situation in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah, and engaged in armed confrontations on the ground amid heavy exchange of artillery shelling, raising questions about the fate of ongoing peace efforts. Although both sides had declared their willingness to halt the fighting and head to participate in the upcoming UN-sponsored peace talks in Sweden, sporadic fighting and exchange of gunfire continued in Hodeidah. An army commander told Xinhua by phone that the government forces clashed with Houthi rebels in the areas surrounding the Kilo 16 area in Hodeidah, but no military progress was made. "Houthis positioned inside the citizens' farms keep targeting our sites with artillery shells and some of our soldiers were injured as a result of the bombardment," the commander said on condition of anonymity. He said that the government forces responded and shelled the Houthi-controlled sites with artillery gunfire, sparking armed confrontations in the same areas around Kilo 16 area. A source of the government's media center said that several shells fired by Houthis landed on residential buildings in Hodeidah's neighborhood of Mandher, causing casualties. | 
