ADEN, Yemen, March 17 (NNN-SABA) – Forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally-backed government, launched a new military operation against the Houthi rebels, in the south-western province of Taiz on Saturday, a military official said.
The military source said that, pro-government forces, supported by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, began an operation in a number of mountainous areas, located in the western part of Taiz, killing 25 Houthi rebels.
Military units of Giant Brigades forces and the 20th Infantry Army Brigade, engaged in the anti-Houthi operation that began in the early hours of Saturday, the source said.
He added that three mid-level field commanders of the Houthi group were among the dead rebel fighters.
The Houthi rebels lost control over the key mountain of Maqsab on Taiz’s western outskirts, following hours of armed confrontations with the pro-government forces.
Aseel Saqladi, spokesman of the Giant Brigades forces, said, “Surprise armed attacks against the Houthis will continue during the next days.”
The military spokesman confirmed that the pro-government forces succeeded in “seizing key areas during Saturday’s operation, which also inflicted heavy casualties on the Houthi rebels in western Taiz.”
Elsewhere in Yemen, sporadic attacks took place between the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces and the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.
Residents said, the two warring sides exchanged shelling by mortar shells that affected residential areas in the city.
Houthi media outlets reported that war planes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition hovered over Hodeidah without launching air strikes.
The warring forces have so far failed to withdraw from Hodeidah and its southern districts, in accordance with the UN-sponsored Stockholm Agreement reached last Dec.
The deal aimed to avert an all-out offensive on the lifeline port city, which is the key entry of Yemen’s commercial imports and international aid.– NNN-SABA
