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YEMEN-HOUTHI-FIGHT
Fighting intensified in NE Yemen, killing 28
ADEN, Yemen, Sept 7, 2020 (BSS/XINHUA) – Fighting heavily intensified
between Yemen’s government forces and the Houthi group in the country’s
northeastern province of al-Jawf during the past 24 hours, leaving 28 killed,
a military official told Xinhua.
The local military official said on condition of anonymity that “armed
confrontations that began late Sunday are still taking place between the
government troops and the Houthi group over the control of key areas in al-
Jawf province.”
The ongoing fighting left nearly 18 Houthis and 10 members of the
government forces killed with score of injuries among both factions, the
source said.
He indicated that the government forces were determined to expel the
Houthis out from strategic areas in al-jawf, but fighting expanded further in
the province.
“The Houthis staged a stiff resistance and succeeded in impeding the
progress of the government forces in al-jawf til the moment,” the source
added.
Another local Yemeni military official confirmed that the Iran-backed
Houthis made progress on-ground and captured areas in the neighboring oil-
rich province of Marib.
Warplanes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition intervened and carried out a
series of airstrikes against the Houthi-led areas in al-Jawf and Marib
provinces, according to the local Yemeni sources.
The Iran-allied Houthis control much of al-Jawf and government forces
backed by the Saudi-led coalition are attempting to expel the rebels out of
the province.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014, when the Houthi group
seized control of much of the country’s north and forced the Saudi-backed
government of President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led military coalition intervened in the Yemeni conflict in March
2015 to support Hadi’s government. En
BSS/XINHUA/FI/ 1528 hrs