KSA-led coalition widens Taiz gain

نيسان ـ

.

arabnews

Yemeni forces allied to internationally recognized President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi began consolidating over military and government buildings in regions liberated from militia groups in the southwestern province of Taiz, Al Arabiya said on Sunday.

Taiz’s Mayor Ali Al-Muammari said the Popular Resistance Units started handing over freed buildings to the pro-Hadi army.

Medical supplies provided by Saudi Arabia have also reached the main Al-Thawra hospital in Taiz for the first time since last year, a medic at the facility said.

The news comes after spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition Brig. Gen. Ahmed Al-Assiri announced on Saturday that pro-Hadi forces have claimed control over the interior of the city, vowing that the Iran-backed Houthi militias, who control the capital Sanaa and other areas, would be dislodged.

Meanwhile, Saudi-led helicopters attacked Al-Qaeda militants in Aden in an effort to dislodge them from a stronghold in the southern port city, a security official said on Sunday.

Witnesses and medics said Apache helicopters from the Saudi-led coalition struck armored vehicles and a government compound used by the militants in Al-Mansoura district, a stronghold in north Aden. Coalition aircraft provided support and hit a military convoy that was trying to bring reinforcements to the rebels, the sources said.

Medics said a total of 18 people have been killed — 17 suspected militants and one civilian bystander — and at least 23 civilians and militants were wounded. Three members of the security forces were also injured.

Security forces cordoned off an area of Al-Mansoura district where dozens of suspected militants are believed to be holed up, while warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition dropped leaflets on the area telling residents to stay home and report any militants to authorities.

A tenuous calm in the district was broken occasionally with bursts of gunfire. The city’s governor said the operation was the second phase of a government campaign to restore state control over the city, the temporary seat of the Yemeni government.