‘Victory is soon’ in Yemen’s Taez province

Pro-government forces clear mines left by Houthi rebels in advance towards Mokha district.

ADEN // Saudi Arabia-led coalition forces were clearing Houthi landmines in the Yemeni district of Dhubab yesterday, after flushing the last rebels out of the Red Sea area.

Coalition and pro-government Yemeni fighters are advancing up the coast in Taez province towards the district of Mokha, but their progress has been slowed by minefields.

As sappers cleared Dhubab of mines yesterday, helicopters targeted Houthis in Mokha.

Rashad Al Sharabi, spokesman of the pro-government Popular Resistance in Taez, told The National that the Houthis were sending "huge numbers" of their fighters from the north to Mokha in an attempt to stop the coalition's advance.

However, Mr Al Sharabi said that military reinforcements were being sent to Dhubab from the southern port city of Aden to help coalition and pro-government forces retake the entire province.

“The victory is soon,” he said, referring to the recapture of Taez province. He added that the Houthis had lost hundreds of their fighters in Taez, and were resorting to using child soldiers.

The Houthis have tightened their siege on Taez, preventing basic goods and water from entering the city, which is held by forces loyal to Yemeni president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.

Meanwhile in Aden city, an emergency power plant built by the UAE began supplying electricity to most of the city’s neighbourhoods, said the director of the Aden electricity authority, Aref Al Shauibi.

The UAE is spending Dh217 million to supply Aden with new generators and restore the electrical grid, Mr Al Shauibi told The National's sister newspaper, Al Ittihad.

A team from the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority will visit Aden to assess the city’s needs and prepare a full report on the situation, he said.