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Yemen army ‘retreats’ from last base in Sa’ada

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Houthi fighters say they have inflicted a heavy defeat on the Yemeni army, forcing the military to retreat from its last base in the city of Sa’ada.

In a statement Tuesday, the fighters said they captured a strategic military headquarters in Razih district, north of Sa’ada on Monday.

The fighters have also made significant gains against government forces in the area, said the office of the Houthi leader, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi.

The fighters killed a top army commander, Brigadier General Amr Ali Mousa Al-Uuzali, in an ambush on Sunday and left nine troops dead and dozens of others injured. They also took over a military base and destroyed one tank and two armored vehicles in the fighting.

The Houthis demand an end to social, economic and political ‘discrimination’ against Houthi Muslims in Yemen as well as Saudi-backed attempts to spread Wahabism — a sect that preaches controversial and violent actions — in the north. They also accuse the government of wide-spread corruption.

The government accuses the fighters of violating the terms of an armistice by taking foreign visitors hostage in 2009.

The fighting in the north, which was launched by the government on August 11, has displaced thousands of civilians, while tens of thousands of others remain at risk as winter approaches.

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