Houthi forces run rampage inside Saudi Arabia, scores of regime forces killed

Fierce clashes erupted on the Yemeni border on Friday as Houthi-led troops were caught up in clashes with Saudi soldiers across three southern provinces of Saudi Arabia, military source Hesham Sami Al-Kibsi told Al-Masdar News.

Yemeni forces, led by the Popular Committees, Missile Forces and Republican Guard, engaged with Saudi Arabian troops and allied mercenaries in the governorates of Najran, Jizan and Asir.

In Jizan province, Saudi soldiers were heavily shelled at outposts in the Al-Tabbah Al-Hamra area. In addition, Houthi forces launched missiles upon Camp Al-Hajjir and Saudi Al-Misyal military base.

Meanwhile in neighboring Asir province, the Yemeni Army’s Missile Forces bombarded Saudi-held positions at the Alb land port and Al-Jawazat customs area.

Citing military sources based in Yemen, Hesham Sami Al-Kibsi stressed Saudi troops suffered heavy human and material losses due to the clashes. Although he was unable to specify casualties on either side, he added that Houthi snipers shot dead two Saudi soldiers at the Shaja’ military base in Najran.

These intensified cross-border clashes come just two days after the US State Department warned American citizens in Saudi Arabia to stay at least 85 kilometers clear of the Yemeni border. Meanwhile, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office advised its citizens not to travel within 10 kilometers of the Yemeni border.

According to a Saudi outlet, over 40,000 projectiles have struck Saudi Arabia since 2015 due to clashes with Houthi-led forces that have established a rival government in Sanaa.

The recent cross-border military operations come in response to a blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia on Yemen since March 26, 2015.

Notably, the now Saudi regions of Najran, Asir and Jizan are part of the historical greater Yemen but were annexed by Saudi Arabia during the Saudi-Yemeni war of 1934, before they were officially ceded to Saudi Arabia by former Yemeni president Saleh at the Jeddah convention back in 2000, thus ending a 60-year-old land dispute.