SANA’A (Dispatches) – Over 16,000 militants have defected from the Saudi-led coalition since Sana’a issued a “general amnesty”, including 12,000 until the end of 2020, a military source in Sana’a has revealed.
The source also stressed that thousands of those who were described as “deceived” intend to return to the arms of Sana’a, Alakbar Al-Yemeni reported.
The official responsible for the returnees in the Fifth Military Region of Sana’a, Brigadier General Riad Salah Baldhi, said that the Sana’a forces are “responsible for securing the return of the deceived and facilitating their passage through the points until they reach their villages and families,” noting that the general amnesty decision is an opportunity that should be expedited and taken advantage of, before it is too late.
In the latest developments, dozens of militants sponsored by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have been killed when Yemeni army soldiers and fighters from allied Popular Committees launched a missile strike against their position in Yemen’s southern province of Shabwah.
Informed sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Yemen News Portal website that a massive explosion shook a military camp of the UAE-backed militants – better known by the nom de guerre the Giants – in the Nokhan area, which lies east of the provincial capital of Ataq, on Monday evening.
According to the sources, the incident occurred when Yemeni soldiers and allied fighters launched a domestically-developed ballistic missile at the site, leaving dozens of the militants killed and injured.
A day earlier, Lebanon’s Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network reported that the commander of the so-called Third Brigade, Majdi al-Radfani, had died of his injuries after Yemeni army troops and their allies targeted UAE-sponsored militants in the Bayhan district of Shabwah province.
The report added that more than 130 militants have been killed during battles with Yemeni Armed Forces over the past few days and dozens of others have been wounded. A number of their military vehicles have been destroyed as well.
Meanwhile, the Yemeni armed forces shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to the United Arab Emirates Air Force (UAEAF) as it was flying over Shabwah province.
They hit the Chinese-built long-endurance Wing Loong 2 drone with a surface-to-air missile on Tuesday morning, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces Brigadier General Yahya Saree tweeted.
Saree said the armed drone was targeted while carrying out hostile acts over the Ain district of the province.
Saudi warplanes continued to carry out airstrikes against several areas across Yemen on Monday.
Saudi military aircraft conducted strikes against Ansar Mosque in the Harib district of Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib, severely damaging its building.
Saudi warplanes also targeted farm houses and agricultural lands in the same Yemeni district, with no immediate reports of possible casualties and extent of damage quickly available.