Al Mukalla/Riyadh: The commander of government troops in Yemen’s Red Sea front, Abu Zara’a Al Muharami, told Gulf News that his forces have taken full control of Hays town in the western province of Hodeida. Backed by massive air support from Saudi-led coalition fighter jets, government forces attacked Hays town after clearing its suburbs of landmines and IEDs. As government forces began heading towards the town lst week, Al Houthis blew up a bridge linking Hays to its outskirts and surrounding areas, and deployed forces inside the densely populated town to slow down government forces.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for the Coalition fighting to uphold the legitimacy of the internationally recognised Yemeni government announced that at 7.23am on Monday, the Saudi Royal Air Defence Forces intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Al Houthis from the Sa’ada Governorate of Yemen towards the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, has reported.
The spokesman, Colonel Turki Al Maliki, said the missile was heading towards the city of Khamis Mushait and was deliberately launched to target civilian and populated areas.
He said that this hostile action by the militia proves the continuing involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting the armed group in a clear and explicit defiance of United Nations Security Council resolutions 2216 and 2231. Iran’s aim was to threaten the security of Saudi Arabia and regional and international security, he said, adding that the launching of ballistic missiles towards densely populated cities and villages is contrary to international humanitarian law.
Al Maliki called on the international community to take more serious and effective steps to stop Iran’s blatant smuggling of arms and transferring of ballistic missiles to terrorist groups and outlaws, and to hold Iran accountable.
-With inputs from WAM
