Yemen Fighting Flares in Port City of Hodeida

At least five fighters from both sides in Yemen’s years-long civil war were killed on Thursday during clashes in the Red Sea port city of Hodeida. A senior official with the security establishment of Yemen’s internationally recognized government said artillery shells had fallen on a storage deport holding wheat. A television station reported that several dozen shells hit the port, which handles an estimated 70% of Yemen’s imported goods. Hodeida’s facilities had been up and running in recent months after being a focus of battles with Houthi rebels, who are backed by Iran. Most of the fighting with the rebels has of late shifted to inland provinces, being overshadowed by fighting between two groups normally allied in battling the Houthis: government troops and southern separatists represented by the Southern Transitional Council, which has been seeking a return to two separate states. They resumed their own fighting in the southern Abyan Province on Wednesday, less than a month after the council said it had been ready to accept a Saudi unity proposal.