Al Rahida city lies on the main road from Aden to Taez, Yemen’s third largest city, 40 kilometres farther north. Warplanes from the Saudi Arabia-led coalition have been targeting Al Rahida heavily in recent days to explode landmines planted on the road leading to the city.
Advertisement
“The USA government is well aware of the Saudi-led coalition’s indiscriminate air attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians in Yemen since March”, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday.
Firas Al Yafea, head and coordinator of the two campaigns, said, “Had it not been for the generous support extended by Saudi Arabia and UAE, Governorate of Aden and other governorates could have not recovered from the unjust war waged by the rebel militias'”. Pro-Hadi forces and their coalition allies pushed north towards Taez overnight, capturing the village of Waziaa, southwest of the city, military sources said.
The U.S. has played a direct role in coordinating coalition air operations, United States military officials have said.
In their advance out of the south, pro-government forces have also been battling the rebels in Marib province east of the capital.
Hundreds of reinforcements were deployed to the province on Thursday, equipped with dozens of military vehicles newly arrived from neighbouring Saudi Arabia, military sources said.
Loyalists control Marib city, 140 kilometres (90 miles) from Sanaa, but they have so far failed to secure the rest of the province, which is the source of much of Yemen’s oil output.
The approval came just a month after the US approved an $11.25 billion sale of combat ships to Saudi Arabia, defying the worldwide call for an arms embargo over war crimes concerns.
Tehran accused Riyadh of deepening the conflict with its military intervention against the rebels.
Advertisement
The Iranian minister once again reaffirmed the need for an end to the disastrous situation in Yemen, saying that months of aggression and military approaches have led to nothing but the destruction of Yemen’s infrastructures and the slaughter of innocent people in this country.
