DUBAI, June 20 (Xinhua) -- The liberation of the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah from Houthis has started the process of ending the Yemen war, said UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on Wednesday.

Gargash said on his Twitter account that Yemen has now the choice "between order and violence, between peace and war," adding that "3 percent of Yemenis," referring to the Shiite Houthi rebels, "cannot control the fate of the nation."

The coalition led by armies of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched a major assault seven days ago against Houthi rebels, aiming at capturing the airport in the southern edge of Hodeidah.

Hodeidah is strategically important, as the metropolis with a population of 600,000 is the gateway to maritime trade for Yemen's capital Sanaa, which the Houthi rebels have been occupying since the outbreak of the civil war in the Arab peninsula country.?