ADEN // Pro-government fighters in Yemen captured 13 hilltops from Houthi rebels in Taez province yesterday as the Saudi Arabia-led coalition continued to airdrop weapons in support.
The drops of arms and ammunition on Al Dhabab front, south-west of Taez city, began on Tuesday and continued yesterday morning.
Coalition forces also conducted air strikes to help the pro-government forces in their fight against the rebels.
Taez city is the capital of the south-western province of the same name.
“After the coalition forces provided the resistance with the weapons, the fighters became more confident as they feel that the Saudi-led coalition will support them, so they could advance fiercely and recaptured the 13 hills,” said Aref Al Samei, a senior member of the anti-Houthi resistance forces in Taez.
Also yesterday, Yemen’s prime minister, Khaled Bahah, commended efforts made by GCC relief organisations to support the country.
The UAE has delivered humanitarian and relief assistance to 91,987 families in the southern governorate of Aden and surrounding cities.
According to the official Yemeni News Agency, Mr Bahah also praised the efforts of other Arab and international organisations for their humanitarian relief.
Meanwhile, the coalition denied that its aircraft had bombed a Medicines Sans Frontiers hospital in Yemen, after the attack was condemned by UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
The hospital, in the northern city of Saada, was hit on Monday, but MSF said there were no casualties.
The Saudi Arabian mission to the United Nations said that “the Arab coalition aircraft did not attack the hospital” and were not in Saada at the time.
Coalition forces had been given the exact co-ordinates of the hospital, which were placed “within the forbidden targets” parameters for attacks, the Saudi statement said.
“Accordingly, this hospital could not have been targeted by the coalition forces.”
The Saudi mission said a thorough investigation was under way and expressed “deep regret” that Mr Ban had blamed the coalition without “full and accurate information about that regrettable incident”.
On Tuesday, Mr Ban had condemned the air strikes which he said had been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition and called for an investigation.
Yemen’s UN ambassador, Khaled Alyemany, said that the UN deputy envoy for Yemen was holding preparatory peace talks with the Houthis in Oman and would then travel to Riyadh to meet the government.
Mr Alyemany said he hoped formal talks will get under way in the first two weeks of November, most likely in Geneva. No date has been set yet.
A UN bid to launch peace talks in June failed over demands for a Houthi withdrawal from seized territory, but this time, much effort is going toward ensuring there is agreement on the agenda.
In recent weeks fighting has focused on the western Taez province, with clashes continuing on multiple fronts. In various fronts around Taez city, about 50 Houthi rebels were killed, along with eight resistance fighters, according to Moa’ath Al Yaseri, who trains anti-Houthi fighters in Taez city
Mr Al Yaseri said, “the decisive war for Taez has begun and the resistance will not stop the war until the province is liberated from the Houthis.”
Mr Al Yaseri said he could not confirm some Yemeni news reports on Thursday that Sudanese troops had arrived in Taez city, under the control of pro-government forces, to aid residents in their fight against the Houthis.
“I cannot confirm that the Sudanese forces arrived to Taez coming from Aden, but I can say that the Saudi-led coalition forces will participate in the battle of Taez”, he said
Mr Al Yaseri confirmed that the next step of the resistance in Taez is to break the siege of the Houthis on Taez city, stating that the Houthis control the two main entry points.
The Houthis siege of Taez city has caused a humanitarian crisis with food and medicine shipments unable to reach to the city.
The Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched an intervention in Yemen in March, after the Iran-allied rebels forced the internationally recognised government into exile.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With reporting from Agence France-Presse and Wam
