Yemen army makes gains in Shabwa

The Yemeni army and allied resistance forces yesterday registered gains against the Houthi militia and its allies in Yemen’s southern Shabwa province, according to a pro-government source.

Aayid Al-Jalali, a pro-government spokesman, told the Anadolu Agency that the Yemeni army’s 26th Division had recaptured large swathes of territory in the province’s Al-Saq region.

“Our forces are now poised to take the Al-Safha area in the Harib governorate of neighbouring Marib province,” he added.

Last week, pro-government forces launched a wide-ranging operation aimed at recapturing parts of Shabwah’s Oseilan and Bihan governorates. This comes as the Yemeni army and resistance forces are making significant gains in the highlands of Yemen, including the Houthi heartland province of Sa’ada.

Sa’ada Governor Hadi Al-Waili went on to assert that the Yemeni army and other pro-government forces had registered significant gains in the province.

The Houthis and their allies, for their part, have yet to comment on the reported developments.

Yemen has been locked in a bitter battle between Houthi rebels allied with forces loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh and government forces led by President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, along with local tribes and resistance forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition.