Yemeni army suffers heavy losses in Sa’ada

As the Yemeni government intensifies its two-month offensive against Houthi fighters in the north, its forces suffer more and more casualties each day in the region.

In a statement released on Sunday, the fighters said they caused heavy damage and losses on army forces in the Sa’ada province on Saturday.

At least nine troops were killed and dozens injured in clashes in Al- Malahit and al- Manzalah areas.

According to the statement, the fighters also took over a military base and exploded one tank and two armored vehicles in the fighting.

In the areas of al-Mahazer and Sawq al-Lail, the fighters captured the government’s military headquarters with all its equipment.

The army heavily bombed the area to avenge the severe defeat, the statement said.

In another effort to crush the fighters, the army forces launched a major crackdown in Sufian in Amran province, but were finally forced to withdraw from the city.

Yemen launched ‘Operation Scorched Earth’ on August 11 against the fighters whom it accuses of seeking to restore a religious leadership in the northern areas that was overthrown in 1962.

The fighters, however, say they only demand an end to government’s social, economic and political ‘discrimination’ against Houthi Muslims in the northern areas.