Aden — Yemeni rebels are planting landmines around the key port of Hodeida, employees said Wednesday.

Three port employees reached by telephone said the Houthi rebels had also begun to mine entryways to the port overnight.

The workers said the Houthis had planted explosives near two of the port’s gates, one that leads to Jizan Road, a main street in the city’s north, and the other near the Alsanabel flour mill company.

“There is only one entrance left into the port, and that is the main gate that leads to Mina Street that trucks use,” one employee said.

The Yemeni army has destroyed more than 2000 Houthi mines in three days only in Hayran district alone, following big advances in the fifth military area in Hajjah governorate.

Specialized Yemeni forces have been dedicated to destroying mines planted by Houthis.

On a bigger scale, Yemeni forces have been able to destroy hundreds of thousands of mines out of a million mines planted by Houthi militias in all Yemeni governorates and villages.

Houthis have been known for planting mines the moment they sense their upcoming defeat.

In the southern governorate of Dhale, dozens of Houthis were killed and injured and 10 were detained, including field military leaders, in violent confrontations with the Yemeni forces.

The Yemeni army, with support from the Arab Coalition, has been fighting Houthis in the city of Damt for days, and was successful in liberating big parts of it.

In Hodeida, Yemeni sources confirmed the death and injury of dozens of Houthis on different battle fronts, whereas the Yemeni army continued to advance toward the northern entrance of the city.

The advances come with great Houthi losses and the fleeing of dozens of militias from the front lines to the neighborhoods of the city. — Agencies