Islam Times - Yemen Defense Forces Not Far from Recapturing Whole Ma’rib: Reports

Islam Times - Yemen’s allied defense forces have decisively escalated their counterattacks on Saudi Arabia’s allies in Ma’rib, the capital of a hugely strategic west-central Yemeni province of the same name, and are reportedly on the verge of recapturing the whole city.

The Yemeni army and Popular Committees were reported on Tuesday to have advanced as far as the city’s “government buildings.”

The advancements were made possible, despite heavy Saudi bombardment of the flashpoints in the city from above, Yemen Press Agency reported. It came after the forces successfully pushed back against the kingdom’s allies there, namely Riyadh-backed militants and al-Qaeda terrorists, the outlet added.

The terrorists, it added, have been forced to abandon their positions and beat a retreat towards the city’s administrative buildings.

The Yemeni forces “are not far from” reestablishing Sana’a’s sovereignty over the city, Yemeni media sources noted.

The two sides are now engaged in intense confrontation “using heavy weaponry,” local sources noted.

The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, tried to shift the Yemeni allies’ attention away from their pending victory by trying to create diversionary clashes in other places. It, however, failed in its bid, the Yemeni outlets said.

The locals said the coalition’s forces had suffered considerable human and material losses during the developments. “A large number” of the enemy’s military commanders were either killed or injured during the advances, they announced.