MILITIA SUFFERS CASUALTIES IN BID TO ENTER ‘GATEWAY TO THE SOUTH’

Yemen’s southern forces have repelled a massive attack by Iran-aligned Al Houthi militiamen south of the capital Sana’a, military sources said yesterday.

The extremists’ attack was mounted late Tuesday near the southern province of Dhalea, triggering fierce clashes in the province’s villages of Al Zubairiyat and Al Reibi, the sources added, according to the Arabic service of Sky News television.

The Southern Resistance and the Security Belt Forces thwarted the Al Houthi campaign and killed or injured most of the militant infiltrators, they added.

Attempt to sneak in

Al Houthi militiamen had attempted to sneak into the area under an intense cover fire, but their bid was monitored, resulting in heavy casualties among them, the sources added. Heavy and light weapons were wielded in the ensuing clashes.

The southern forces’ tanks and artillery shelling targeted Al Houthi gatherings in the region, the sources added. The militia escapees also left behind military hardware.

Al Houthis have plunged Yemen into a devastating war since late 2014 when they overran Sana’a and other parts of the impoverished country in a coup against the internationally recognised government.

In 2015, an Arab alliance co-led by the UAE and Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen to fight Al Houthis in response to a request from the government.

The Iran-supported radicals have taken advantage of a recent standoff between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council (STC), both partners in the Arab coalition.

Dhalea is located north of the port southern city of Aden.

On Wednesday, an STC member accused Al Houthis and Islamist allies of seeking to capture Dhalea to get access to Aden. “The front of Dhalea highly embodies the reality of joint coordination and alliance of necessity between Al Houthis and the [Muslim] Brotherhood, who are seeking to break its steadfastness and pushing towards Aden,” Fadhel Al Gade, a senior member of the STC tweeted. Dhalea is seen as the gateway to southern Yemen.