Al Mukalla: The prime minister of Yemen has vowed to step up military operations against the Al Houthi movement and their ally ousted president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, until they pull out of all areas under their control including the capital, Sana’a.
Ahmad Obaid Bin Daghar has said that his government seeks to end Al Houthi coup against the internationally-recognised president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi by hook or crook and to push them into implementing all previous agreements including the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference.
Speaking at government troops on Karash battlefield in Lahj province, Bin Daghar said: “Our priority is restoring the state, ending the [Al Houthi] coup and fighting Al Qaida and other terrorist groups.”
Accompanied on Friday by senior army commanders, governor of Lahj and military advisers from the Saudi-led coalition, Bin Daghar also visited Al Anad Military Base in Lahj province, the biggest military facility in Yemen, where he hailed the “pivotal” military support from the Saudi-led coalition that helped the government to reverse Al Houthi military expansion and paved the way for loyalists to make significant gains on the ground. “Thanks to the coalition’s support, we managed to make major advances on the fronts.” he told his troops.
Meanwhile on the ground, military sources said on Sunday that government forces dislodged Al Houthi fighters from several hilly positions on a chain of mountains that overlook Khalid Bin Al Waleed Military Camp, west of city of Taiz and bottled up the rebels inside the heavily-fortified camp. Government forces have recently intensified attacks against the camp, but forced into slowing advances due to thousands of landmines laid by the Al Houthi militia.
Losing Khalid Bin Al Waleed camp would be a major defeat for the Al Houthi movement who would loose an important military location that supplies battlefields with arms and ammunition. Local army commanders said that fighter jets from the Saudi-led coalition pounded Al Houthi fighters who are hiding inside a chain of underground tunnels in the camp.
Also in Taiz, local activists who document Al Houthi crimes in the city said on Saturday that shells fired Al Houthi fighters on the city’s eastern outskirt exploded in residential areas in the city, killing a 5-year old girl and injuring several others. Hundreds of civilians have killed in similar indiscriminate shelling by Al Houthi fighters who seek to weaken government forces who control the city’s downtown. Raging clashes were also reported on Sunday on Nehim district, just outside of Al Houthi-held capital.
