Yemen’s forces resume clashes with insurgents in Taiz

Fierce clashes continued Wednesday night between Yemeni military forces on one hand and Houthi militias and other forces loyal to Yemen’s former President Ali Abdullah Saleh on several fronts in the province of Taiz. The clashes coincided with continued air raids on positions, reinforcements and targets of the insurgents.

The Yemeni army managed to foil an infiltration attempt by militias into the Siraatin area on the Salo front, south of Taiz Directorate, where fierce battles took place, during which the militias suffered heavy casualties and material damage.

There were also fierce battles between Yemeni forces loyal to the legitimate government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi and the insurgents in the surrounding areas of Khalid bin Walid camp. The army’s artillery shelled positions belonging to the Houthi and Saleh militias west of the Sarawah district of Marib. Sources said that the national army used heavy artillery, last night, to bombard the strongholds of Houthi militias in the western area of Sarawah, leading to the burning of a military equipment.

In turn, the Arab Alliance aircraft targeted the positions and reinforcements of the militias in the vicinity of the Risan Bridge and the Mukha Crossing, causing heavy casualties among the insurgents.

In Jeddah, a tripartite committee, composed of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Emirates, held a meeting to resolve the current tension between the Yemeni government and its Emirati counterpart over the decisions taken by President Hadi to change governor of Aden, Major General Eidros Zubaidi and Minister of State Hani Ben Brik.

The tripartite committee is one of the fruits of the meeting held between Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz with Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi this week in Jeddah to discuss developments in the Yemeni situation. According to the Saudi Press Agency, the committee held its first meeting Wednesday, chaired by Yemeni Vice President Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, and the membership of representatives of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

According to the agency, the Committee reviewed the overall situation related to its field of work and the results of recent contacts between the political leaders in these countries. The committee expressed its appreciation to the orders issued by the leaders of Saudi, Yemen and Emirates to raise the level of coordination and cooperation within the framework of the Arab Alliance to support the legitimate government in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz met with Yemeni President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi in Jeddah on Saturday and reaffirmed the kingdom’s commitment to Yemen’s legitimate government.

According to a statement from the Saudi Press Agency, King Salman reiterated his keenness on “supporting the brotherly people of Yemen as well as Yemen's legitimate government in order to achieve security and stability in Yemen.”

The statement added: “The meeting addressed a number of issues of common interest as well as the latest developments in Yemen.”

The meeting was attended by Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, President of General Intelligence Khalid bin Ali Al-Humaidan and Director of the Yemeni President's Office Dr. Abdullah Al-Alaimi.