Rebel missile kills senior Yemeni general near Mokha

Yemeni Army deputy chief of staff Major General Ahmad Saif Al Yafei in Mokha as they drove the Shiite Houthi rebels away from the Red Sea coast on February 9, 2017. AFP PHOTO / SALEH AL-OBEIDI

SANAA // The deputy chief of staff of Yemen’s military was killed on Wednesday in a Houthi rebel missile attack.

Brigadier General Ahmed Seif Al Yafie was killed along with six other officers when the ballistic missile hit a gathering of commanders near Mokha on the Red Sea coast, Yemen military officials said. A further 25 people were wounded

Yemeni prime minister Ahmed Abdu Dagher expressed condolences on Twitter after the attack, saying the “end of the enemy is near.”

The Saba news agency, which is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, said their forces struck the vehicle of Brig Gen Al Yafie.

Mokha, a historic port, has been the scene of intense fighting between pro-government forces and the Saudi-led coalition on one side and the Houthis and allied forces loyal to the ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh on the other.

The Yemeni army had overrun Mokha on February 10 and government commanders had talked confidently of pushing north towards the rebel-held port of Hodeidah.

But the rebels hit back on Wednesday in clashes near to Mokha, which killed 18 soldiers as well as 21 rebels.

More than 50 others from the two sides were wounded in the fighting, which saw the coalition carry out air strikes as the rebels reached the eastern outskirts of Mokha.

The government’s February capture of Mokha was their biggest success in months with the rebels still holding the capital Sanaa and much of the central and northern highlands as well as the coast around Hodeidah.

Before the 19th Century, Mokha was Yemen’s main port and export hub for coffee grown in the highlands and its historical symbolism meant it was fiercely fought over.

Tens of thousands of people were recently displaced from the fighting along the western coastline.

President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia has earmarked US$10 billion (Dh36.7bn) in aid for the reconstruction of provinces retaken from Shiite Houthi rebels.

Mr Hadi said the money would be “for the reconstruction of liberated provinces, including $2bn as a deposit in the central bank to shore up the [Yemeni] riyal”, the Saba news agency reported.

The president, speaking in the government’s temporary southern capital of Aden, called on his government to focus on power, water, roads, health and education in retaken areas.

* Agence France-Presse and Associated Press