Yemeni army takes over republican palace in Taiz

The Yemeni army has taken control of the republican palace and is gaining ground eastward, Al Arabiya's news correspondent rerported.

The Sofitel hill overlooking eastern Taiz is one of the most beautiful highlands in the city. Residents of Taiz have never thought that it would be a source of concern for nearly two years, when the militias took over the city and turned it into a military barracks.

The location of the hill overlooks the eastern entrance of the city and the line connecting Taiz, Sanaa and Aden contributed to the siege of the city.

The heavy weapons of the militias stationed on the hill, including what is known as the “Sofitel tank” were not only targeting the vital facilities that have recently witnessed fierce battles like the Republican Palace and the Tashrifat Camp, but also residential neighborhoods in the center of Taiz.

The location that overlooks large areas of eastern Taiz and features the city’s most famous hotel that was opened in 2002, was targeted by coalition fighters in a series of violent raids that resulted in the destruction of militias’ vehicles and equipment.

A Yemeni army source said that the raids killed and injured dozens of militia members who were at the Sofitel Hotel that was hit by the raids.

The residents of Taiz, whose eyes have been locked on this hill and the death shells that will be targeting them, hope that this would be the last thing that emerges from the Sofitel hill towards the neighborhoods of Taiz.

Yemeni Minister of Human Rights Mohammed Askar said that militias have blown up more than 300 mosques and centers for Holy Quran memorization in Yemen since their coup against the legitimate authority.

He said during his participation in a regional seminar on the human rights discourse on confronting religious extremism in Cairo that the militias have arrested and killed more than 600 religious preachers, the official Yemen News Agency reported today.