Al Mukalla: The governor of Yemen’s Saada province said on Saturday that hundreds of new army troops and allied tribesmen were sent to reinforce other forces battling Al Houthis inside their heavily fortified heartland in northern Yemen.

Hadi Tarshan told Gulf News that as many as 700 men loyal to the government of Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi crossed into Yemen from neighbouring Saudi Arabia as government forces pause their advance to regroup and remove landmines.

“Our forces have cleared the entire Bouqa region from Al Houthis and a couple of days ago took control of the strategic Salata location where we found arms and landmines hidden by the fleeing Al Houthis,” he said.

Government forces entered the Al Houthi stronghold of Saada for the first time since the beginning of the war last month.

Backed by intensive air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition, government forces recaptured a border crossing with Saudi Arabia and advanced inside the province.

Meanwhile, clashes intensified in Nehim district, outside Al Houthi-held Sana’a, as government forces make slow headway in the rough area.

Army commanders loyal to Hadi said that coalition fighter jets carried out heavy air strikes, targeting Al Houthi positions and vehicles carrying arms supplies.

Residents in Sana’a reported on Saturday hearing big explosions after fighter jets struck military facilities controlled by Al Houthis.

In the city of Taiz, Yemen’s third largest city, the state-run Saba news agency said on Friday that a woman was killed and three children injured in a small village in Hayfan district when Al Houthis shelled their houses.

Locals also said fighting raged in the mountainous Al Salo region after government forces launched an attack in an effort to gain control of a strategic road that links the province with the port city of Aden.

A leading tribal figure in the northern province of Jawf deserted Al Houthi ranks and joined government forces, local media reports said on Saturday.

The government-allied Jawf Media Centre said on Saturday that Jaber Mohammad Al Hadadah and a number of his followers switched their support to government forces.

A number of local Al Houthi figures have recently threw their support behind the governor of Jawf and vowed to aim their guns at their former allies.

Meanwhile on the diplomatic front, US Secretary of State John Kerry is set to visit Muscat on November 14, where he will meet Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, Sultan’s of Oman and Yousuf Bin Alawi, Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs.

The officials will discuss a recent peace drive to solve the crisis in Yemen, according to the US Department of State.

Oman has denied reports that it has allowed Iranian weapons to pass through its territory to reach Al Houthis.

It has played the role a mediator in the crisis between Iran-backed Al Houthis and a Saudi-led Arab coalition backing Yemen’s legitimate government.

Esmail Ould Shaikh Ahmad, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Yemen met with the warring parties in Muscat in October.

Oman is the only GCC country not participating in the Arab coalition and has stressed that dialogue is the only way forward.