Al Mukalla: Dozens of Al Houthi fighters were killed in heavy clashes in the northern province of Hajja as Yemeni government forces advanced deep into the Red Sea city of Medi, the Ministry of Defence said on Saturday.
Government forces raided Al Houthi hideouts in some districts of the Red Sea city of Medi, setting off heavy clashes that killed as least 20 Al Houthis.
The ministry’s official website quoted a local army commander as saying that elite forces stormed a number of houses in Medi and evicted the rebels from the Kadaf and Umm Al Grager regions.
For more than two weeks, government forces have laid siege to the city in an effort to force the rebels to surrender.
The city is almost entirely empty as civilians fled to safer areas amid the months of fierce fighting.
With massive air and logistical support from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, government forces have recently managed to halt Al Houthi gains on all fronts.
Government forces have broken months of military stalemate placing Al Houthi militants on the defensive in areas like Medi, Haradh and the Nehim district just outside of Sana’a.
The Ministry of Defence also mourned the death of Colonel Abdullah Al Reshidi and a number of his associates who were killed in clashes with Al Houthis in the district of Serwah, Marib province.
Meanwhile in the southern city of Taiz, two brothers were killed and several others from the same family wounded on Friday after they were hit by a Katyusha rocket fired by Al Houthi fighters.
Residents said that Al Houthis who are stationed outside the Salo region heavily shelled residential areas, causing panic and damage to properties.
Clashes also continued on Saturday on the eastern, southern and northern outskirts of Taiz as rebel forces sought to break government forces’ lines that protect the city centre.
In the province of Baydha, the Ministry of Defence said that tribal forces loyal to president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi took control of the Jamajem region in the Al Zaher district, after killing a number of rebels and destroying their armoured vehicles.
Local security authorities in the southern province of Lahej said that suspected Al Qaida militants attacked a checkpoint in the Al Askari region, killing a soldier and injuring several others.
Security sources said that the militants attacked the checkpoint on Friday night, triggering heavy clashes with the army which managed to foil the attack and arrest three attackers.
