Yemen: Mareb Update

Saudi/UAE-led Popular Resistance forces claimed to have made strategic gains in eastern Mareb on Friday after fierce battles in Nakhla area in the oil-rich province with Houthi and pro-Saleh forces, Asharq Al-Awasat reported today.

“Fighting continued for more than three hours and different types of heavy weapons were employed in addition to aerial bombardment,” a source told the Pan-Arab newspaper.

AFP today also quoted a coalition official as saying that the offensive in Mareb province is making “slow but steady” progress.

Meanwhile, Saudi-led coalition intensified air raids on Sanaa on Friday, hitting a Republican Guard base and a military depot in south and west of capital.   

Photo credit: A UAE/Saudi-led coalition military vehicle drives through rocky terrain during an offensive against Houthi positions in Mareb province; 15 September 2015 (EPA/Asraq Al-Awsat)

Yemen’s Exiled Government: No Talks Until Houthis Withdraw

Arab-led Coalition Launch Major Offensive in Mareb

President Hadi’s exiled government said today it will not participate in UN-brokered peace talks later this week unless the Houthis, Ansar Allah, accept the UN Security Council Resolution 2216, which calls on the Houthis to withdraw from territories they’ve captured since last September, including the capital Sanaa.

The Houthis and their allies, former president Saleh, who ruled over Yemen for 33 years before being forced from power in 2012, and army units still loyal to him, have so far not accepted the UN resolution and continue their hold on some of the territories they had captured, including Sanaa. Since then, a Saudi/UAE-led anti-Houthi coalition has pushed them out of southern provinces, including the post city of Aden. Hadi’s government, however, had said on Friday it would attend the UN meeting in Muscat, Oman, but are now the start of the talks is contingent on Houthi acceptance of UNSC resolution.   

Meanwhile, the news agencies are reporting that Saudi/UAE-led collation forces launched a major offensive with 12,000 fighters against the Houthi/Saleh forces in Mareb province to break the Houthi siege of Mareb city and push them out of the province. Mareb lies 200 km (125 miles) east of Sanaa, on a major highway linking the city to the capital. The control of Mareb by coalition forces will be one of the biggest defeats for the Houthis in the yearlong civil war.

Photo credit: Taez during clashes between Yemeni exiled government and Houthi forces; 9 September 2015 (@Ahmad al-Bash/AFP/France24)

Qatar Deploys 1,000 Troops to Support Saudi/UAE-led Offensive in Yemen

Qatar has deployed 1,000 ground forces backed by 200 armored vehicles and 30 Apache combat helicopters in Yemen to support Saudi/UAE-led offensive against the Houthi and Saleh forces, Al Jazeera reported today.

The Qatari forces are now heading to Yemen’s Mareb province to join the Saudi/UAE-led coalition to break the siege of Mareb city by Houthi and Saleh forces. This is the first time that Qatar is deploying troops in Yemen to support the anti-Houthi offensive.

Al Jazeera reports that more Qatari troops will be deployed in Yemen. The new force is expected to secure the Jawf governorate.

Meanwhile, UAE conducted bombardment of Houthi/Saleh military bases in Nahdain and Fajj Attan hills in Sanaa in the heaviest of the six-month-old air campaign on Sunday. Also targeted were Houthi positions in northern areas of Sufan and al-Nahda. UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain lost 61 soldiers on Friday when their camp’s weapons depot was exploded after being hit by a missile fired by the Houthis.

File Photo: Qatari troops marching (Getty Images/Al Jazeera)

22 UAE Soldiers Killed in Yemen

UPDATE: The death toll has rises to 45 

Twenty-two UAE soldiers were killed during an explosion in a camp near the Yemeni city of Mareb. The Houthis told Reuters they had fired a missile at a weapons cache in the camp used by the Arab coalition forces. UAE's The National reports the explosion at the arms depot was caused by a fire that led to the violent explosions. A number of Apache helicopters and vehicles were also destroyed. Residents of Mareb told Reuters they saw fire raging at the camp and plumes of smoke.

Before the latest incident, at least 5 Emirati soldiers had been killed in Yemen since their offensive to retake territories captured by the Houthis began earlier this year.

The UAE and Saudi-led forces are preparing an offensive to break the siege of Mareb by the Houthi/Saleh forces. The strategic city is in the center of the country. It lies 200 km (125 miles) to the east of the capital Sanaa, with a major highway running through it, connecting the capital to points east.

UPDATE: The death toll has rises to 45 after 23 more soldiers succumb to injuries, Gulf News reported.

Photo credit: Smoke plumes seen in Mareb after the incident  (Asia News and World Report)

Heavy Fighting in Yemen

Reports appearing in social media this morning indicate the UAE-led Yemeni resistance forces are on the move westward on Hwy N5 and are reaching Mareb (photo above).

A Twitter report says the UAE-led force, with Saudi helicopter air support, had entered Hadramaut’s town of Al Abr, in central-eastern Yemen, before heading west toward Mareb. If the report is confirmed, the offensive forces could have crossed into Yemen’s Hadramaut from Saudi border crossing of Al Wudaydah, traveling more than 300 km (nearly 200 miles) on roads through Hadramaut desert to reach Mareb. In fact, a Twitter post said a large force was rumored to cross Al Wudaydah toward Mareb. (Twitter/@omeisy, 22 August)

There were no reports of fighting and resistance by Houthi/Saleh forces against the offensive force reaching Mareb. Sanaa, the Yemeni capital, lies 200 km (125 miles) to the west of Mareb on N5 Hwy, a major road that can support Arab coalition’s heavy military equipment. The offensive could be the initial phase of the retaking of Sanaa by the Arab coalition-led forces.

Meanwhile, there are reports of heavy Houthi artillery fire at Southern Resistance positions inside the city of Taiz and Saudi airstrikes against Houthi position around the city, causing heavy casualties. The Houthis have been attempting to recapture Taiz, 330 km (205 miles) south of Sanaa. The resistance forces last week took control of the city and its Republic palace.

Social media also are publishing photos of Saudi commandoes disembarking from helicopters in Saada province, reportedly attacking Raghat Mountain hiding place of Houthi chief Abdul Malik Al Houthi.

UPDATE: AP quoting security officials reported Saturday night that Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) militants have seized control of key areas in and around Aden. If confirmed, this would a major gain for AQAP, which has been making inroads amid chaos of the country’s civil war.

Photo credit: A twitter photo showing a UAE-led column of anti-Houthi fighters near Mareb, 125 miles east of Sanaa (Twitter/@Yemen_Updates, 22 August)