Al Mukalla: Six people, including four members of one family, were killed on Tuesday in hours-long clashes in Yemen’s strategic port city of Aden as government forces and the allied resistance fighters stormed some neighbourhoods in Al Mansoura district, residents and local media reports said.
A government official told Gulf News that government forces were looking for wanted figures and sought to clear armed groups linked to Al Qaida and Daesh from Al Mansoura district.
“Government forces raided some neighbourhoods and besieged some others,” the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The government’s entry into Al Mansoura triggered a bloody conflict with armed groups that overran the area in July after government forces pushed Al Houthis out of Aden. Two pro-government fighters were killed in clashes and a family of four was killed when a shell exploded in their house.
Separately, military forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi stormed a large military camp in the northern province of Jawf, forcing Al Houthi fighters into sheltering in the abutting uplands, residents and officials said in Tuesday.
After fierce fighting and intensive air bombardment by the Saudi-led coalition, government forces broke into Al Khanjar camp in Khab and Al Sha’af district, scoring another victory against the militants, the governor of Jawf, Hussain Al Awadhi told Gulf News on Tuesday. “The national army and resistance are now inside the camp, combing the area for some Al Houthis who refuse to surrender.”
Military operations in Jawf began in December when hundreds of tribesmen and military troops advanced into the province from the neighbouring Marib province. Unlike other military frontlines where government forces are facing resistance from the militants, fighters in Jawf recaptured many strategic locations including the province’s capital, Hazem. The governor said that by controlling the camp, the Al Houthis lost control of almost all regions in Khab and Al Sha’af, which he described as the “largest district” in Yemen, adding that the government forces have almost completed two-thirds of the Jawf military operation.
According to the governor, the first phase includes liberating bordering regions with Marib and the province’s capital. The second phase involves taking control of Khab and Al Sha’af while the third one is driving the militants out of areas that border Saada, Al Houthis’ heartland. The governor attributed victories in Jawf to “unity of command”, “strong collaboration” between the resistance and local authorities.
