Yemeni Forces Claim Control of 20 Positions in Saudi Arabia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that the country’s forces took control over more than 20 positions in a push in Saudi Arabia's Najran province, inflicting heavy losses to kingdom’s forces.
Speaking to Saba news agency on Wednesday, Yahya Sarei said the military sites in southwestern Saudi province of Najran were seized in a “surprise” offensive underway over the past three days.
The spokesman said that more than 200 personnel affiliated with the Saudi-UAE-led military coalition had been killed or wounded, while many others were captured along with large quantities of military equipment.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Yemeni Al-Masirah television channel reported that the country’s fighters had launched multiple attacks on several Saudi military positions in Najran, which is located adjacent to the Yemeni border.
Some video footage of the operation was released on Thursday.
Leading a coalition of its allies, Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall fugitive former president Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who had resigned amid popular discontent and fled to Riyadh, and to crush the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which has been significantly helping the Yemeni army against the coalition for the past four years.
The imposed war initially consisted of an aerial campaign, but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground mercenaries to Yemen. Furthermore, armed militia forces loyal to Hadi, in line with invaders, launch frequent attacks against Yemeni people in regions held by Houthis.
The aggression is estimated to have left 56,000 Yemenis dead.
The Saudi-led war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN has said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger. According to the world body, Yemen is suffering from the most severe famine in more than 100 years.
A number of Western countries, the US, France, and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.
