Concern mounts as coalition forces advance on key Yemeni port
Has the United States lifted its “red light” on an Emirati- and Saudi-backed military operation to take the key Yemeni port?
![YEMEN-SECURITY/ Firefighters try to extinguish a fire engulfing warehouse of the World Food Programme in Hodeida, Yemen March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Abduljabbar Zeyad - RC141A5A1C40](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2018/06/RTX5F82X.jpg/RTX5F82X.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=ER-759cA)
WASHINGTON — With Saudi- and Emirati-backed Yemeni forces reported to have advanced to within 20 miles of the key Yemeni Red Sea port of Hodeidah, some have wondered if the Donald Trump administration has softened its previous opposition to a coalition military effort to seize the Houthi rebel-held port, which is a critical humanitarian lifeline for the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.
The White House said it had not changed its position.