Yemeni forces liberate key district from Houthi rebels

Yemeni government forces succeeded in retaking control of a district from the Shia Houthi rebels after fierce armed confrontations and airstrikes in the southwestern province of Taiz on Saturday, an Army commander said.

"The Houthi militants have been defeated in Alwazy'ah district after units of the Army and allied tribal fighters launched overnight offensive and backed by intensified Saudi-led air strikes," the Army commander was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency.

He said that the government forces supported by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carried out a well-planned assault, forcing the Houthi militants to run away which resulted in full recapture of Alwazy'ah district on Saturday morning.

The state-run UAE news agency WAM reported that the Yemeni National Forces liberated the entire Alwazy'ah front, expunging the Iran-backed Houthi militia out of their pockets in the area.

The liberation came as part of a large-scale campaign that was supported by the UAE Armed Forces and inflicted heavy human and material damage on the rebels.

Meanwhile, the UAE-backed Yemeni forces continued in making ground progress in the fighting in western coast of Hodeidah province and liberated several areas from the Houthi rebels.

A military official said that "the government forces will continue in its advance and a large-scale military operation might be declared to liberate the port city of Hodeidah soon".

The UN has listed Yemen as the world's number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera.

--IANS

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