Houthis capture key areas in central Yemen

Sanaa, Sep 16 (IANS) The Houthi militia captured key areas from Yemen's government forces following intense battles in the country's central province of al-Bayda, a military official said.The official told Xinhua news agency that "the Houthis stepped up their military operations and gained progress on-ground leading to capturing As Sawma'ah district in al-Bayda province" on Wednesday."The militia's fighters were deployed in As Sawma'ah district and stationed there after the withdrawal of the government forces," he said."The Houthis carried out other simultaneous attacks and seized more key areas in the neighbouring district of Mukayras," he added.He clarified that ferocious battles are still going on between the Houthi fighters and the government forces backed by local tribal fighters there.There was no official count of casualties, but local medical sources confirmed that several people were either killed or injured from both warring sides.The Iran-allied Houthi militia recently intensified their military operations against the government-controlled areas in different parts of the war-ravaged Arab country, and succeeded in capturing key areas from the government forces backed by Saudi Arabia.Yemen has been locked into a civil war since the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi militia overran much of the country militarily and seized all northern provinces, including the capital Sanaa, in 2014.Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab military coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after Houthis forced him into exile.
--IANS ksk/