Al Mukalla: Yemen’s armed forces in conjunction with the Saudi-led coalition are poised to launch a massive military operation to recapture the northern province of Dhamar from Al Houthis, senior army officials and the governor said on Tuesday as hundreds of highly trained soldiers graduated from a military training course in the central province of Marib.
Army Chief of Staff Mohammad Al Maqdashi, who hails from Dhamar, said in the graduation ceremony that those soldiers would take part in the operation along with many tribesmen. The soldiers conducted a small live ammunition exercise and some of the military skills they learnt in the course.
The graduation of the new troops comes days after the birth of Dhamar Popular Resistance Council that includes army officers, and tribesmen who fled the province in October 2014 when Al Houthis rebels seized control of Dhamar. The council is headed by the province’s governor Ali Al Kusi who said that two army brigades that primarily comprised from military personal from the province would lead the operation against Al Houthis.
Marib province has become a gathering point for coalition troops and pro-government forces battling the rebels in Sana’a province. The anti-Al Houthi forces that seized main territories in Jawf province were trained and armed in Marib.
Inspecting army brigades in Maribs, Al Maqdashi said on Tuesday that government troops are due to launch another operation to push the rebels out of Hareb district in Marib and Bayhan in Shabwa.
In the southern port city of Aden, the temporary base of the government, dozens of police forces were deployed in streets and near key government institutions as new troops and armed vehicles from the coalition arrived on Wednesday at the city sent from the coalition.
Local armed militants have exploited anarchy followed the departure of Al Houthis in July to kill many intelligence and security officers. The deployment of the new forces comes shortly after a meeting in Aden between vice-president Khalid Bahah and governor of Aden Aidarous Al Zubaidi and the city’s chief security Shallal Shaye.
A local government official told Aden Al Ghad, an independent website, on Wednesday that a new batch of coalition troops backed by armed vehicles arrived in the city from the sea apparently to take part in a security campaign to clamp down on armed groups.
In the capital, residents said on Wednesday that the coalition warplanes carried out heavy air strikes targeting suspected weapons depots, military camps and the presidential palace.
