Shabwah: The Saudi-led Arab coalition has managed to extend its control over the southern coast of Shabwah province, as part of its efforts to fight against terrorist organisations in Yemen.

The process of Shabwah’s liberation has been in the works for months as hundreds of Yemenis from Shabwah were recruited into military camps in the Hadramout province, under the supervision of the Arab coalition countries represented by the United Arab Emirates.

The liberation of Shabwah comes on the heels of previous successes by the coalition to expel Al Qaida from Al Mukalla and the surrounding areas in Hadramout.

The first military batch of the elite forces in Shabwah, backed by coalition forces, are advancing in the Radhom, a coastal area of Shabwah.

Over the weekend, bloody battles between government forces and Al Houthis raged.

Over 172 people were killed and 721 injured in Yemen’s southern city of Taiz last month, an alliance of local humanitarian groups and activists said.

The coalition said most of the injured people are in critical condition at poor local hospitals and could die if they do not receive immediate medical treatment abroad.

Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, has been the scene of heaviest clashes between forces of the intentionally-recognised government and Al Houtihs and their ally, the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Hundreds of people have been killed since early last year when Al Houthis sent their fighters to take control of the city during their rapid military expansion last year. Army units and local tribesmen came together and formed a military council to fight off Al Houthi advances. A military operation by the Saudi-led coalition turned the tide in favour of the government forces.

The Humanitarian Relief Coalition blamed Al Houthis’ heavy shelling on the city’s residential areas for most of the deaths and destruction of property.

Ameen Al Haydari, a member of the coalition, told Gulf News on Saturday that Al Houthis shelling and fighting destroyed 65 government facilities and houses including seven schools and forced hundreds of people into fleeing their homes.

“752 families fled their homes in Salo district that witnessed heavy clashes last month.”

Despite their attacks and the siege on the city, Al Houthis have failed to break into the government forces defences in the city centre.