Sanaa, September 16: Houthi, resistance fighters say they have taken control of two key areas in the northern province of Sa’dah, after pushing back government forces.
Zaidi Shia fighters have taken full control of the As-Safra, and Baqim, cities of Sa’dah, province, the information office of the group’s leader, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi announced in a statement.
The statement also said that the resistance fighters had managed to foil the 39th assault by the government forces on the Jebel al-Aswad, region and the city of Harf Sufyan, in the northern province of Amran,, while capturing a number of the Yemeni elite presidential guard forces.
The statement came following Monday’s reports of an attack on a market in the city of al-Talh (Shabwah Province) claiming 12 lives and leaving another 22 wounded. Women and children were reported among the casualties.
The number of fatalities is expected to rise as families are searching under the rubbles for the loved ones that have been missing since the attack.
In the meantime, a Yemeni military source has claimed that government troops have taken over “a number of hills” overlooking the city of Dammaj, in Sa’dah province.
The official also said that the Houthi, fighter had suffered considerable damages in clashes that broke out in the region.
“Army forces blew up two vehicles, carrying terrorists, weapons and ammunition in the Bani Ma’ad region [of Sa’dah], killing all the terrorists,” according to the source.
Since 2004, the Yemini army and the Zaidi Shia fighters have been engaged in sporadic clashes.
On August 11, a fresh round of fighting broke out after a year of relative peace, as the Yemeni government launched a new wave of attacks on the northern provinces of Sa’dah, and Amran,.
San’a’ claims that the Houthi, fighters are trying to restore the Zaidi imamate system, which was overthrown in a 1962 coup.
The Houthis, however, say that they are defending their people and fighting for their civil rights. Zaidi Shias make up around 40 percent of Yemen’s overall population and are the clear majority in the north.
According to UN figures, the past month of unrest has displaced around 50,000 people, bringing the total count to 150,000 since 2004.
This is while international aid agencies warn that the deteriorating humanitarian situation in northern Yemen has displaced another 35,000 people in just the past few days.
Based on figures released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), close to 75,000 children have been directly affected by the unrest as well.
—–Agencies