Hajjah battles may spell end for Houthi militia in Yemen
The Saudi-led Arab coalition carried out 18 operations on March 3 against the Houthi militia in Hajjah Governorate, northwest of capital Sanaa.
It said the operations caused the destruction
of 12 Houthi vehicles and left a large number of Houthi fighters dead.
The battles in Hajjah between the Yemeni
army and the Houthis are the fiercest, the Yemeni army said on its website.
It added that it had succeeded in recovering
light and medium weapons and large quantities of ammunitions from the militia's
grip.
The army also succeeded in destroying
a mortar with a concentrated bombardment, the army said.
Start
Battles have been raging on in
Haradh, a city of Hajjah Governorate, for a month now.
They came in the wake of operations
by the Yemeni National Army against the Houthis in the governorate.
The army succeeded in besieging the
militia and tightening control over strategic sites in it.
It also infiltrated the eastern and
western neighborhoods of the city.
The Houthis are trying, meanwhile,
to maintain their control on Haradh, thanks to the strategic importance of the
city which is located near Yemen's border with Saudi Arabia.
The militia has also planted
hundreds of mines in the governorate and sent large military reinforcements to it
to hinder the progression of the Yemeni army.
It also launched dozens of missiles
and drones on the positions of the army.
Importance
Yemeni researcher Mohamed Saleh said
Haradh is a place through which the Houthi militia can constantly threaten
Saudi Arabia.
"The city is very close to
Yemen's border with the kingdom," Saleh told The Reference.
"It uses it in launching missiles
on Saudi territories," he added.
He noted that Haradh is also largely
empty, enjoying a very low population density.
