Yemeni pro-government forces are planning an all-out assault on the Red Sea port of Hodeida, AP quoted a military commander as saying on Wednesday. The plan comes amid heavy efforts by the forces to seize rebel-held areas along Yemen’s western coast. Troops are now 13km from Hodeida, a city in the hands of Yemen’s Shiite rebels, Houthis, but need time to prepare for a “swift takeover with minimal casualties,” said Ahmed al-Kawkabani, who leads a force known as Tohama Brigade. The coalition plans to ensure that the port keeps running without interruption, al-Kawkabani said. Hodeida’s port is a vital lifeline from which most of the Yemeni population’s food and medicine comes.