Saudi Arabia, US end Yemen refueling deal

Yemeni government forces pushed further into the strategic port city of Hodeida seizing its main hospital in heavy fighting yesterday as their Saudi-led coalition backers put a brave face on an end to US refuelling support.

A loyalist official said mortar rounds were "falling like rain" in the streets as troops weathered rebel-laid mines and snipers to take control of the main hospital in the city of some 600,000 people. The fighting has killed 382 combatants this month.

The rebels have put up fierce resistance to the loyalist advance towards the city's vital docks, which are the point of entry for 80 percent of Yemen's commercial imports and nearly all UN-supervised humanitarian aid.

The suspension of US assistance to re-fuel coalition aircraft comes as Washington's backing of the war effort faces increased scrutiny following international outrage over journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder last month in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

US Democrats, buoyed by a string of midterm election victories, have sought to curtail Washington's military support to Saudi Arabia and demanded greater oversight of a conflict dubbed by the UN as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

Some 14 million Yemenis are at risk of famine and many more are dependent on international aid, according to UN agency figures, making it vital that Hodeida's docks remain open and undamaged.

The Pentagon provided refuelling capabilities for about 20 percent of coalition planes flying sorties over Yemen.

Analysts said the US move would limit the coalition's ability to conduct bombing missions.