Monitoring Desk
ADEN: Southern separatists captured the biggest camp of presidential guards amid fighting with government forces in Yemen’s coastal city of Aden on Tuesday, according to a pro-government commander.
Forces loyal to the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC) have imposed a blockade around the camp of the 4th Brigade in Dar Saad district in northern Aden since Monday, Abdullah al-Shaabi said.
“STC forces have intensively pounded the camp and detonated the arms depot inside,” he told Anadolu Agency.
He said scores had been killed and injured in the ongoing fighting in the city, without giving an exact toll.
The seizure of the camp is the biggest gain for southern separatists against government forces since fighting erupted in the city on Sunday.
Tension has steadily mounted in Aden since the STC called for the dismissal of Prime Minister Ahmed bin Daghr, accusing his government of pushing war-torn Yemen to the brink of starvation.
Around 36 people have been killed and 180 injured in the ongoing clashes between the two sides, according to The International Committee of the Red Cross.
WAM adds: The Arab Coalition in Support of Legitimacy in Yemen has valued the Yemeni government’s support for the coalition’s recent statement for all segments of the Yemeni society to exercise self-restraint, res-ort to peaceful dialogue and avoid any causes of dissent.
At a news conference on Tuesday in the Saudi capital, Col. Turki bin Saleh Al-Malki, the Spokesman for the Coalition Forces, considered the Yemeni government’s support for the statement as a step forward on the way to stamp out barriers between political factions in Yemen, affirming that the main battle of the Yemeni people should rather be directed to regain the remaining territories usurped by the coup perpetrators. Al Malki spoke of the progress achieved by the coalition forces and their ceaseless efforts to secure aid for all Yemenis, specially inside the territories still under the control of the Iran-backed rebels.
The Houthi militias are determined to violate all relevant international conventions by precluding distribution of aid across different parts of Yemen, threatening international maritime shipping in the Red Sea and Mandeb Strait and using booby trapped boats across the area, he said.
Al Malki reiterated the coalition forces’ resolve to ensure control over all Yemeni territories to liberate them from the rebels.
He pointed to the military victories achieved in Yemen’s northern areas near the borders with Saudi Arabia, including stymieing all rebels’ attempts to infiltrate into the Saudi lands.
He pointed to the comprehensive humanitarian aid operations launched across Yemen thanks to the support provided by the coalition member states.
Meanwhile, the UAE Armed Forces demining teams have cleared western coast of Yemen as part of the continuous operations to clear landmines in different areas to protect the lives of the people there.
Teams of the UAE Armed Forces and the Arab Coalition have collected and detonated mines, rockets, missiles and projectiles, and improvised explosive devices in a safe area.
These landmines were planted by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias to target civilians, and the Emirates News Agency, WAM, has been monitoring the demining operation and disposal of mines. The types of mines planted by Houthis vary, with some of them being handmade in the form of rocks planted in mountainous area and in the form of sand blocks as well as other different types of mines in other areas.
The Houthis deliberately plant mines and improvised explosive devices on roads, houses and farms from areas where they are expelled without regard to civilians, children, young people, women and the elderly.
