Hodeida
[key], city, W Yemen, on the Red Sea. An important port, it exported
coffee, cotton, dates, and hides prior to Yemen's civil war in the late
2010s. It was developed as a seaport in the mid-19th cent. by the Turks.
After a disastrous fire in Jan., 1961, destroyed much of the city, it was
rebuilt, particularly the port facilities, with Soviet aid. A highway from
Hodeida to Sana, the capital, was completed in 1961. Hodeida was the site of
a Soviet naval base in the 1970s and 80s. During the civil war the port was
an essential conduit for supplies to Houthi forces (which led to a blockade)
and relief supplies, and Saudi-led forces began an assault on the city in
2018; the fighting decreased after a Dec., 2018 cease-fire agreement.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Arabian Peninsula Political Geography
