Yemeni Troops Seize Major Military Camp in Ma’rib
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemeni troops established full control over Kofel camp in the Sirwah district, which lies about 120 kilometers east of the capital Sana’a, after dealing a major blow to militants loyal to former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The development came after pro-Hadi militias fled the district in Ma’rib following a multi-pronged operation by Houthi fighters against them, Press TV reported.
Moreover, the spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said the country’s air defense units had managed to thwart Saudi-led airstrike against areas in Ma’rib Province.
Saree said a squadron of Saudi-led fighter jets sought to bombard areas in the Sirwah district early on Tuesday when the domestically-built and long-range Fater-1 (Innovator-1) surface-to-air missile defense system intercepted the jets and forced them off Yemeni airspace.
The high-ranking Yemeni military official noted that the aircraft left the area without carrying out any strikes.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched the devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing back to power the Riyadh-backed former government and crushing the Ansarullah movement.
The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past nearly five years.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have purchased billions of dollars' worth of weapons from the United States, France and the United Kingdom in the war on Yemen.
The Saudi-led coalition has been widely criticized for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign. The alliance has carried out more than 20,650 air raids in Yemen, according to the data collected by the Yemen Data Project.
The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.