Al Mukalla: Yemen president, Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, has said that the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reaffirmed his full support for his government which is battling Iran-backed Al Houthi rebels and forces loyal to ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh across the country.
Hadi told his deputy, prime minister and senior advisers at a meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday that the UN chief assured him about international community support for his government and its efforts to strike a deal with the rebels to end the more than two years old conflict.
Last year, Hadi strongly opposed a plan by the UN envoy to Yemen which reduced his presidential authority and sidelined his deputy, Ali Mohsen Al Ahmar, who is currently spearheading battles against Al Houthis in northern Yemen.
On Wednesday, Hadi also said that his government extended the hand of peace, but that rebels rejected it.
UN support for Hadi’s government comes as Yemeni forces scored fresh victories on many fronts under heavy air support from fighter jets and helicopters from the Saudi-led coalition.
Meanwhile, in the southern city of Taiz, army troops and allied tribesmen on Thursday seized control of a number of hilly positions in the eastern parts of the city after heavy clashes with Al Houthi fighters.
The Ministry of Defence said on Thursday that government forces took control of Radar and Al Qari hilltops after killing and injuring at least a dozen Al Houthi fighters.
Government forces have been in control of the city centre since early 2015.
The rebels, who control the outskirts of the city, have failed to make further advances into government forces’ positions despite their consistent shelling and blockade.
And in the country’s north, the commander of the 5th Military Region, Major General Omar Sajaf, said that government forces have surrounded Al Houthi fighters in the city of Medi in the Hajja province killing dozens of rebels in the last couple of days.
Sajaf, who has recently visited the Medi front, said government forces cut off military reinforcements to the rebels in Medi’s downtown, vowing that his forces would march towards the port city of Hodeidah after liberating Medi and Haradh.
On the country’s western coast, local army commanders and media reports said coalition fighter jets heavily attacked Al Houthi weapon caches in areas between Khokha and Hodeidah on the Red Sea, in a bid to help government forces on the ground to make further advances in its continuing offensive on the coastline.
Fighter jets also struck Al Houthi-controlled military sites in Marib’s Serwah and Shabwa’s Bayhan district.
The Saudi-led Arab Coalition, meanwhile, said it was deeply concerned over the humanitarian situation in Yemen and reiterated that the Al Houthi-controlled Red Sea port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis, should be under international supervision to ensure the free flow of humanitarian shipments.
“We have called on the United Nations to exercise oversight of Hodeidah port to ensure the free flow of humanitarian shipments,” it said in a statement carried by state Saudi Press Agency.
Al Houthi rebels use the port of Hodeidah, an important entry-point for humanitarian supplies, “to smuggle arms and people ... and finance their ongoing violent campaign to overthrow the legitimate government by seizing humanitarian supplies and selling them for exorbitant sums.”
“We are doing everything in our power to ensure that the Yemeni population receive the food and medicines they need.”
“Other ports including Aden, Al Mukalla and airports are open to deliver humanitarian supplies,” the Coalition added.
