Yemen’s Ansarullah, army make gains in south

Yemeni forces have gained more ground in their fight against militants loyal to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, in the southern part of the country.

On Sunday, fighters of the Houthi Ansarullah movement supported by the Yemeni military engaged Hadi forces in the province of Lahij, killing four militants and injuring five others, Yemeni media reported.

Ansarullah fighters also managed to push Saudi-backed militants from the strategic areas of Dhubab and Bab el-Mandeb, and they were forced to retreat to some regions in Lahij.

Houthis made further advances in the southern provinces of Dhale and Ta’izz and cleared some areas there from Saudi-backed militants.

In a separate development, Yemeni army forces destroyed a Saudi armored vehicle in Ta’izz.

The army and allied Popular Committees also destroyed in their mortar attacks a number of armored vehicles near a military base in the southwestern Saudi border city of Najran.

Yemen has been witnessing ceaseless airstrikes by Saudi Arabia since March 26. The military aggression has been meant to undermine Ansarullah and bring Hadi back to power.

The Saudi aggression has reportedly claimed the lives of more than 7,100 people and injured nearly 14,000 others. The strikes have also taken a heavy toll on the impoverished country’s facilities and infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories.

Human rights groups and international organizations have voiced deep concern over the rising number of civilian casualties in Yemen, calling for an end to the conflict.