According to the deal hammered out in December talks in Sweden, a local administration was supposed to take control of the Red Sea city and be monitored by a special UN mission. But UN envoy Martin Griffiths, who arrived in the rebel-held capital on Monday, acknowledged the proposed timelines for a pull-out from the port had passed unheeded while the country stood on the brink of famine.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killing. It has also pushed the country to the brink of famine.
The UN has warned that as many as 13 million people could starve to death if aid is not able to reach the worst hit areas. Despite negotiations, the Houthi still control Hodeidah while troops loyal to the government and a Saudi-led coalition backing them are amassed on its outskirts as both sides cannot agree who should control the city or withdraw. The target of 7 January for forces to leave has passed and skirmishes continue instead; residents and aid workers have told Reuters that barricades, trenches and roadblocks have been reinforced.
Kimberley Brown of the British Red Cross said 85, children had lost their lives and malnutrition was taking a huge toll. His family were forced to sell their belongings to fund the three-day journey through the mountains to the southwestern city. Abdu Muqbel, 65, and his family of seven also fled Hodeidah under fire to an IDP camp in Taiz after his wife was hit by shrapnel in her neck.
He said his family barely survived in the camp for two years until Islamic Relief recently came to help. But despite the hardships they face in Taiz, Mr Muqbel said it is not possible to go back to Hodeidah because fighting is still plaguing the city and stopping access to food.
