Yemeni forces take full control of military camp just 40km from Sanaa

Pro-government forces stormed the base last week, but fighting against the Houthis and their allies continued until Thursday.

Pro-government Yemeni soldiers stand at the strategic Fardhat Nihm military camp after fully retaking it on February 11, 2016. The camp is around 40 kilometres from the capital, Sanaa. Ali Owidha/ReutersShow less

ADEN // Yemen’s pro-government forces took full control of the Fardhat Nihm military camp from the Houthi rebels and their allies on Thursday, bringing them 40 kilometres from Sanaa.

Backed by Saudi-led air strikes, forces loyal to the internationally recognised government of president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi managed to capture the sprawling complex after pushing out the Houthis and allied renegade soldiers on Thursday morning, said Yemeni commander Brigadier General Murad Turaiq.

"The forces took over the camp after a week of fierce clashes, and after sweeping hundreds of landmines that were planted by the Houthis inside the camp. The landmines were a main obstacle for the forces [trying] to advance quickly inside the camp," Brig Gen Turaiq told The National.

He said the pro-government forces would continue to advance towards Sanaa which was taken over by the Houthis in 2014.

“The forces have now passed the camp and are heading for the Bani Ghailan area. From there they will go towards the district of Bani Hoshaish. At that point they will be 25km far from Sanaa,” said Brig Gen Turaiq.

The camp was a base for Yemen’s Republican Guards, elite soldiers who remained loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after he was toppled from power in 2011. Mr Saleh allied himself with the Houthis in 2014, with the Republican Guards following suit.

Pro-government forces stormed the camp last week, but fighting continued. Eight soldiers and an officer were killed in Thursday's battle, according to Brig Gen Turaiq. He could not provide a death toll for the rebels.

Brig Gen Turaiq said some of the Houthis and pro-Saleh fighters had already defected to join the pro-government forces.

“I am calling the Houthis and Saleh’s fighters to join the resistance or to leave the war and stay at their houses, as all of those who will stay at their houses will not be bothered by the pro-government forces,” he said.

Also on Thursday, masked gunmen suspected of belonging to Al Qaeda killed three Yemeni soldiers in Aden in the latest attack to target security forces in the southern city, an official said.

* Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse