UN withdraws from key port city, fearing offensive

The United Nations was withdrawing its staff Monday from the besieged Yemeni port city of Hodeida, after member countries were told that an attack by forces led by the United Arab Emirates was imminent, according to two diplomats briefed on the matter.

The evacuation followed a weekend of frantic diplomacy by international officials to stave off what many see as an impending humanitarian and military catastrophe in Yemen’s continuing civil war.

Hodeida is a crucial port city of 600,000 people that is the gateway for approximately 80 percent of the humanitarian aid entering Yemen. For the past two years, it has been held by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who ousted the government three years ago.