Resistance fighters force rebels to retreat in Taez

Houthis and renegade troops surrounded in special forces military camp in city's Kibalah district.

Smoke billows from Houthi shelling of Taez city that has claimed more than 100 civilian lives in the past week. Abdulnasser Alseddik / AP Photo / October 21, 2015

ADEN // Pro-government fighters forced Houthis and allied soldiers to retreat to their main camp in Taez city on Saturday as rebel shelling of civilian areas claimed at least 11 more lives.

The rebels and renegade members of the Yemeni military had been advancing in the central Kilabah area when they were driven back to the Special Security Forces camp.

Resistance fighters seized several guard posts on the camp’s perimeter after the sentries fled inside, said Moa’ath Al Yaseri, a leading figure in the Popular Resistance.

“Clashes are ongoing near the camp,” added Mr Al Yaseri. “The Houthis are still fighting fiercely.”

The Special Security Forces are among the renegade units of the military loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh that have allied with the Houthis. Their camp in Kilabah is the rebels’ main stronghold in the city, control of which is divided between pro-government forces and the Houthis.

Mr Al Yaseri said the Houthis had suffered casualties but he did not know the exact number. The rebel forces were targeting resistance fighters with gunfire and shelling from inside the camp.

“We are trying to drive the Houthis from the camp, but the liberation of the camp will take more time as the Houthis have different kinds of weapons in the camp and they also have food in the camp,” Mr Al Yaseri said.

He said that landmines planted by the Houthis in areas they held were another obstacle to advancing into the camp. “We will besiege the Houthis and hope that air strikes target them inside the camp,” he added.

Air strikes are being carried out by a Saudi-led regional coalition formed to restore the government of Mr Hadi that includes the UAE. Coalition and pro-government forces have driven the rebels from several areas of Yemen, mainly in the south, and are now fighting their way towards the capital, Sanaa, which has been under rebel control since September last year.

The rebels continued shelling civilians areas of Taez city on Saturday, killing at least 11 people and leaving dozens injured, according to an anti-Houthi activist in the city, Mohammed Al Yemeni.

“Some of the injured could not get to hospital as they feared being targeted by further shelling. The conditions in Taez are worsening dramatically,” Mr Al Yemeni said.

The United Nations warned on Friday of a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Taez, with health care facilities “near collapse” and rebels stopping the entry of food and water.

Rebel shelling of the city has claimed more than 100 civilian lives in the past week.

Meanwhile in government-controlled Aden, Yemeni security officials and tribal mediators said that talks to persuade Al Qaeda militants to give up their weapons or move out of the southern city had failed.

Tribal and public figures involved in the talks said discussions began about three months ago after government forces pushed the Houthis out of Aden.

Aden’s governor, Gaafar Mohamed Saad, issued a ban on Friday against carrying weapons in the streets of the city. The decree, which went into effect on Saturday, stipulated that security forces would immediately confiscate illegal weapons.

Officials in the city said Al Qaeda had held large armed parades in Aden during the previous two days.

Elsewhere, coalition helicopters and warships struck several military targets belonging to the Houthis and allied forces on the islands of Aqban and Kadman in the Red Sea on Friday night, fishermen reported.

* With additional reporting from Reuters and Associated Press