Local Editor
Intensified confrontations between Yemeni forces and Saudi-backed militants on Yemen's southwestern coast have reportedly killed over a dozen fighters in the past 24 hours.
Clashes have raged as the militants, backed by warplanes from a Saudi-led coalition, attempt to seize areas east of the Red Sea town of Mokha.
Causalities were reported on both sides.
The latest fighting comes as part of an ongoing offensive by the Saudi-backed militants to occupy Yemen’s lengthy Red Sea coastline.
According to Riyadh the current phase of the operation is aimed at connecting militant positions in Mokha with those in the contested city of Taez.
But there are major obstacles along the way including the Khalid bin al-Waleed military base.
The recent setbacks sustained by the Saudi coalition and their proxies, which saw 5 Sudanese special forces members killed and 22 injured in the area where the fighting is taking place, has also raised serious question marks over Riyadh’s ability to make any significant progress on the ground.
Senior Saudi military officials have dismissed speculation that an assault on the strategic pot of Hodeida is imminent.
"Hodeida is far. Not now,” said the coalition spokesperson Ahmed Assiri on Wednesday.
The fighting comes as aid agencies continue to point to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis plaguing the country. Millions of Yemenis are starving due to Saudi Arabia’s military campaign and blockade in Yemen. Thousands have been killed and millions of others displaced.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
