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by IANS |
Aden, Jan 11 (IANS) Yemeni forces have announced the capture of the oil-rich province of Shabwa from the Houthi militia after intense battles.
"After 10 days of ferocious armed confrontations, the Houthi rebel militants were expelled from all the districts of Shabwa," the southern Giants Brigades said in astatement.
The pro-government forces revealed that large-scale military operations were launched in cooperation with the Saudi Arabia-led coalition against the rebels in Shabwa.
According to military sources in Shabwa, the troops entered the Ein district, the last Houthis-controlled district, from three directions, killing scores of the militia members while dozens fled.
Yemeni military sources confirmed to Xinhua that the Houthis failed to confront the large military campaign and were forced to withdraw from the strategic areas in Shabwa.
An intensified bombardment was carried out by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition against the Houthis, destroying their sites in Shabwa and enabling the pro-government forces to gain rapid on-ground military progress, the sources said.
The Iran-backed Houthis made substantial advances on the battlefield in September 2021, capturing Bayhan and other key areas in Shabwa after seizing al-Bayda and most areas of Marib.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since the 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.
