by Fuad Rajeh
SANAA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- Repercussions of a missile attack on Saudi capital Riyadh by Houthis last week are continuing in Yemen which may deepen crisis in the war-torn country.
Senior military officials from the legitimate army said preparations have started to liberate Hodeida city in the west and the capital Sanaa coinciding with reports the Houthi-Saleh alliance has deployed missiles and forces to face a possible attack.
Yemen is facing the largest humanitarian crisis in the world and the latest closure of its land, sea and air ports is making it worst.
Observers argued that duplicity of the Saudi-led coalition is a big obstacle to peace in Yemen.
Yaseen Al-Tamimi, a political writer and analyst, said the Houthi missile fired at Riyadh was a sign indicating the coalition has not ended strategic dangers coming from Yemen after three years of the war.
"Repercussions of the latest missile have transcended Yemen to make the country an open battlefield for a regional war that goes beyond the goals of the Saudi-led military intervention," he said.
The Saudi-led coalition has accused Iran of supplying Houthis with the ballistic missiles which reached Riyadh.
Adel Al-Shuja'a, a politics professor at Sanaa University, said the talk about Iran is not objective because Saudi and UAE practices in Yemen are providing Iran with a good opportunity to increase its presence in the country.
"Well, it was not the first time Houthis fired a missile at Riyadh. They fired one when U.S. President Trump visited Saudi Arabia in May. The point is that the coalition and its backers are seeking to prolong war here," Al-Shjua'a said.
"But whatever they escalate, they can't ignore the humanitarian catastrophe and growing militancy. The international community will have no option but to end the suffering of the Yemeni people and terrorist threats."
Internally, warlords inside the Houthi-Saleh alliance and the Hadi government represent a huge challenge to peace, observers said.
While the Yemeni people and others were waiting for the Houthi-Saleh alliance to take initiative and deescalate to prove their goodwill and care about the starving Yemeni people, all were surprised by the missile fired at Riyadh, observers said.
And warlords within Hadi's government are to blame for failure to achieve a military victory by the legitimate forces, they added.
A senior official loyal to Hadi told Xinhua there are those who are against uniting or merging the forces under the legitimate government, a matter which is reflected on the security situation and the war course.
