SANA’A (Dispatches) – The spokesman for Yemen’s army says the military and allied fighters from the Popular Committees have liberated 3,200 square kilometers of land in the two key provinces of Ma’rib and Shabwah during their latest operation, promising to fully free the strategically important city of Ma’rib from the Saudi occupiers and their mercenaries.
Yahya Saree made the remarks in a live interview on Sunday, during which he provided full details of the operation “Spring of Victory” along with video demonstration, emphasizing that the operation has reached all its pre-designated goals in the two important provinces.
He said the air force had carried out nearly 280 drone attacks against enemy positions during the operation, adding that 117 operations were also conducted inside Saudi Arabia. The military spokesman said the missile unit had also carried out 130 operations, 35 of which took place on the Saudi soil, and that the air defense had shot down four spy drones and conducted 296 successful operations to repel airstrikes.
The Yemeni spokesman added that the operation continued despite 705 airstrikes conducted by the enemy. He said the cities of Asilan, Baihan and Ein in Shabwa and the cities of Harib and al-Abadiyah and parts of the two cities of Jabal Murad and al-Juba were liberated in Ma’rib.
Saree added that the scale of the attacks had caught the Saudi side by surprise, saying 550 Saudi-backed militants were killed and over 12,000 were injured while 90 were also detained. The spokesman said leaders of the Daesh and Al-Qaeda terrorist groups were among those killed.
In the operation, he noted, 16 armored vehicles and personnel carriers and 180 types of the enemy’s weapons were destroyed. Saree announced the destruction of five weapons depots and the capture of dozens of enemy vehicles.
The Yemeni army forces on Friday established full control over the strategic region of Naja in Ma’rib, south of the provincial capital.
They took control of Naja following fierce clashes with Saudi-sponsored militants loyal to former President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
Saudi Arabia, backed by the United States and regional allies, launched the war on Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the Hadi government back to power and crushing Ansarullah.
The war has left hundreds of thousands of Yemenis dead, and displaced millions more. It has also destroyed Yemen’s infrastructure and spread famine and infectious diseases.