Dubai: Yemeni government forces have liberated three areas in the northern Jawf province following intense fighting in pockets where Iran-backed Al Houthi rebels have been hiding.
Military sources said that the army advances came following confrontations with Al Houthi rebels and supporters of ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Scores of Al Houthis were killed in the fighting, the sources added.
Official sources said that two key Al Houthi leaders, Mohammad Saleh Nasser Al Senteel and Naji Yahya Nasser Al Senteel, have defected and joined Yemeni government forces.
Meanwhile, Saudi-led Arab coalition forces have destroyed a cache of Al Houthi weapons in Behan.
Hours after government troops liberated the area, Ali Mohsen Al Ahmar, the vice-president, visited the Fifth Military Zone in Medi in Hajja.
Al Ahmar called on Yemenis to support the legitimate government and resist militias who have rejected all agreements embraced by the Yemeni people and supported by “brothers and friends.”
“The only way out of this difficult situation caused by the rebels is the reinstatement of the state and of its institutions in a way that guarantees the security, safety and stability of all Yemenis,” he said.
Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi came to power in early 2012 following massive Arab Spring protests that forced Saleh to give up power. However, Hadi was forced to decamp to the city of Aden after escaping Al Houthi-imposed house arrest after the rebels took over the government in a coup in 2014.
Since then, Hadi has shifted his government headquarters to Aden from where he has led an offensive to liberate Al Houthi-occupied territories.
With help from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, Yemeni government forces has achieved widespread gains in many provinces, but Al Houthis still control the capital Sana’a and most northern provinces including Hodeida, Ibb, Mahweet, Yareem, Amran, Baydha and Hajja.
