Yemen fighters ‘liberate’ southern province
The fighters were based in the southern port of Aden and made gains against the Houthis in Dalea following heavy fighting
Pro-government forces in Yemen, strengthened by tanks newly supplied by a Saudi-led coalition, announced on Saturday they “liberated” the southern province of Dalea from Houthi militia control, according to Al Arabiya News Channel.
The fighters, loyal to President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi, were based in the southern port of Aden and made gains against the Houthis in Dalea following heavy fighting. There is yet no word on casualties.
The gains followed an offensive launched on Saturday to retake the Houthi-held capital of Abyan province.
A two-pronged drive on the southern province’s capital of Zinjibar was launched from the north and south, military sources told Agence France-Presse.
It came two days after tribal and military sources said Saudi Arabia, leading an Arab coalition air war on the Iran-backed Houthi militia group, had sent new military equipment including tanks to Yemen.
The tanks were part of a package of reinforcements including armored vehicles and personnel carriers as well as hundreds of Yemeni soldiers trained in kingdom, a military source said.
This week has seen heavy fighting in Zinjibar and heavy coalition air strikes against positions of the 15th Army Brigade allied to the Houthis.
The coalition has since March 26 supported loyalists with air strikes to halt advances by the Houthis, who seized Sanaa last year before pressing south into the port city of Aden.
But pro-government forces retook Aden last month and seized the key airbase of Al-Anad to its north on Tuesday.
Aden was Hadi's last refuge before he fled into exile with his government in Saudi Arabia in March.
The International Committee of the Red Cross head arrived Saturday in Sanaa at the start of a three-day visit to assess the "dire humanitarian situation" in the country.
(With AFP)
-
Red Cross president visits Yemen
Red Cross volunteers have been killed since the conflict began Middle East -
UAE: Three Emirati soldiers killed fighting in Yemen
Three Emirati soldiers were killed defending the internationally recognized government in Yemen, the UAE army said Middle East -
Yemen pro-govt forces launch offensive
Pro-government forces are set to retake the Houthi-hld capital of Abyan province Middle East -
Saudi FM calls for political solution to Yemen crisis
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir and his Italian counterpart Paolo Gentiloni held talks in Rome Middle East -
Yemen says Taez will be freed in ‘next two days’
Maj. Gen. Abdou Mohamed al-Hudhaifi says the army and Popular Resistance Forces have Middle East -
French hostage freed in Yemen arrives in Paris
An official in the president's office said Prime was excepted to be back in Paris late in the morning on Friday Middle East -
No to the separation of South Yemen
Then-President Ali Salem al-Beidh requested unity with the north, in an attempt to escape the inevitable repercussions of the collapse of the Soviet Union Middle East -
Shell kills Saudi soldier on Yemen border
Last Friday rocket fire from Yemen killed three soldiers and a paramilitary along the frontier Middle East -
Yemen loyalist forces eye Abyan after Taez
Brig. General Abdo Mohammed al-Hazifi said Houthi militias have been targeting civilians in the country’s third largest city Middle East -
Houthis using missiles 'supplied by N Korea': Report claims
Missiles that were launched into Saudi Arabia from Yemen in June are believed to be supplied by North Korea Middle East