Commander: Yemeni Forces Inch Closer to Ma’rib Center, Tighten Noose on Saudi Troops in Jizan

“The Yemeni army and popular forces have stretched control over the center of Ma’rib province after fierce clashes with the pro-Saudi troops,” senior Ansarullah commander Ali al-Houthi told FNA on Monday.

Al-Houthi said that the Yemeni army and popular forces have advanced towards the pro-Saudi military bases from the Southern and Southwestern parts of the province, and added, “The Yemeni forces have captured villages which are only 10 kilometers from the center of Ma’rib province.”

The senior Ansarullah commander said that the popular forces and the army have also captured 17 pro-Saudi forces in Ma’rib province.

He, meantime, pointed to the Yemeni army’s intensified attacks on the Saudi army’s military positions in the Southern parts of the kingdom, and said, “Army commanders have ordered reinvigorated and more attacks on the Saudi army positions in response to the Saudi-led coalition’s continued airstrikes on Yemen’s civilian population.”

Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen since last March to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 12,000 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.

Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi bombers are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.

According to several reports, the Saudi-led air campaign against Yemen has driven the impoverished country towards humanitarian disaster.