Arab coalition destroys Houthi weapons depot with 40 rebels killed
The Arab coalition backing Yemen’s legitimate government killed at least 40 Houthi rebels and destroyed a weapons depot belonging to the Iran-backed group in the Hajja province.
The military-run Yemeni news website, 26 September, said that the Saudi-led coalition’s strikes were targeting the arms cache in the Hairan district, about 120 kilometres north-west of the capital Sanaa.
“The Yemeni army confirmed on Thursday that 40 Houthi rebels were killed in battles with the Yemeni army, which is backed by Arab coalition air power in the Hajja province,” it said.
It said that a high-ranking Houthi officer, Abdelkader Hadi Heba, was killed in fierce clashes in the area.
Meanwhile, Yemeni troops stopped the Houthis from entering Haifan in the south-east province of Taez on Friday.
“Houthi fighters tried to sneak into the hills in Al Ahkoom area, but the army was able to push back and killed five of them in a fierce battle that lasted for many hours,” Col Abdulbaset Al Baher, an army spokesman, told The National in a phone call.
In an effort to stop the Houthis’ control of the internet service in Yemen, the telecommunications minister said the government would next month launch a new internet company in Aden, its de facto capital.
“This is a step with the purpose of stopping the Houthi militias’ control of the only service provider [at the moment], Yemen Net, in Sanaa,” Lutfi Bashreef told Al Arabiya news agency. “Aden Net will launch next month.
“The rebels impose bans on social media networks and slow down the speed of the already weakened internet service and this comes amid reports they intend to soon cut off the internet completely to cover their crimes.”
Mr Bashreef said that the Iran-backed group was making “more than 100 billion Yemeni rials [Dh1.5 million]”, which, he added, go towards a “War Effort” fund.
Abdulbaset Al Faqeeh, of the Aden telecommunication authority, said that Aden Net would be backed by the UAE, which was a key component of the Arab coalition in Yemen.
“The new internet company is fully backed by the UAE, and it will a setback for the Houthi militias, who will lose control over the internet in Yemen along with millions of dollars,” he told The National.
“We have already finished connecting the cable from the sea and this will be considered a new victory for Yemen, which will provide clients with the best possible service.”
The Arab coalition intervened in the Yemen in 2015 to fight the rebels on behalf of the internationally recognised government of Yemeni President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi. The UAE has provided Dh9.4bn in aid to Yemen between April 2015 and last November.
Yesterday, the UAE Armed Forces said that they saved the life of a Yemeni boy who suffered serious shrapnel wounds when a landmine exploded near his house in the Mocha District.
The UAE’s state news agency, Wam, reported that the boy was injured by a landmine planted by the Houthi rebels and was treated in a mobile hospital.
The UAE Armed Forces play a major role in clearing areas of the Red Sea Coast from mines to protect the lives of the Yemeni people.