Yemeni Army Blocks Saudi Forces’ Penetration to Sana’a

“The Yemeni army and Popular forces inflicted heavy casualties and losses on the Saudi forces in the fiercest clashes in Ma’rib province and prevented them from making their way into Sana’a,” Yemeni Army Commander Ali Abdollah al-Hamzani told FNA on Friday.

He said that the clashes between the Yemeni army and Saudi forces have intensified in the Eastern part of Sana’a and in the Western part of Ma’rib.

On Thursday, the Ansarullah forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, launched a new offensive to capture the strategic Al-Hazm region in Northern Yemen near the Saudi borders.

“If the Ansarullah forces seize Al-Hazm region in al-Jawf Province, then the pro-Hadi forces would suffer an embarrassing defeat near the Saudi border,” a battlefield source said.

Moreover, if the Ansarullah forces capture the key region, the pro-Hadi forces and Saudi-backed mercenaries would end up in a very difficult situation and would be forced to reinforce themselves in the neighboring Ma’rib province to stop being crushed by the Yemeni popular forces in the province.

The development comes as earlier reports said a senior Sudanese officer and 16 other forces affiliated to fugitive president Mansour Hadi were killed in missile attacks launched by Yemen’s Ansarullah Movement in the Southern province of Lahij.

“A Sudanese colonel was killed along with 16 forces affiliated to the so-called Arab coalition in Ansarullah movement’s missile attack in Lahij, Southern Yemen,” the source said.

The source added that the attack had targeted the Arab coalition forces’ gathering center in Kersh region in Lahij.