Al Mukalla: Fighting between Yemeni government forces and Al Houthi rebels intensified on Thursday on many fronts ahead of a truce announced by the US secretary of state that was due to start Thursday night.
Army commanders loyal to president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi told Gulf News that dozens of the rebel fighters and many loyalists were killed in heavy clashes in Taiz, Hajja, Shabwa, Dhale and Marib.
The rebels confirmed their endorsement of the US-brokered cease-fire deal. However, the backing of the deal by Al Houthis was a moot point since Yemen’s internationally-recognised government has already dismissed the plan as “unilateral,” saying it was not involved in recent talks between Kerry and an Al Houthi delegation in Oman.
Both Kerry and the Omani government said the cease-fire was supposed to start on Thursday and lead to the formation of a unity government before the end of the year. Oman added that peace talks were to resume by the end of the month.
Mohammad Abdul Salam, the Al Houthis’ spokesman, told Al Masirah TV late on Wednesday that the rebels agreed to the deal.
The peace plane, however, sidelines Hadi, transfers his authorities to a newly appointed vice president, and gives Al Houthis a share of power.
On the ground, the heaviest clashes were reported in the southern city of Taiz where Al Houthis suffered heavy defeats in the last couple of days as the government forces gained control of at least 20 sites in different districts, according Mansour Al Hassani, a spokesperson for the Supreme Military Council in Taiz.
Government forces exchanged mortar and canon shells before fighting their way towards new regions on the eastern edges of the city.
“Our forces are now laying a siege on Al Houthis inside the presidential palace and pushing to take control of the strategic Salo region,” Al Hassani told Gulf News by telephone. “There is no truce here. There is only fierce clashes.”
In the northern province of Hajja, government forces battled Al Houthis in the cities of Medi and Haradh under heavy aerial support from Saudi-led coalition fighter jets. Government-run media outlets reported that at least 25 Al Houthis, including a leading figure called Mohammad Esmail Al Bikelali, were killed in the clashes on Thursday.
Aiming to recapture new regions in the southern province of Shabwa, Al Houthis launched a counteroffensive on the government-held Ousylan district, unleashing heavy clashes that killed at least a dozen fighters on both sides.
