ADEN // Pro-government Yemeni forces broke the Houthis’ siege of Taez on Sunday, recapturing hills on the city’s western outskirts and securing control of the main road to the provinces of Lahj and Aden.
A leader of the popular resistance in Taez province, Dhia Al Haq, said resistance forces and the Yemeni army captured Han Mountain early in the morning after launching a heavy attack against the Houthi rebels.
Pro-government forces had pushed the Houthis from the main road connecting Taez with Aden and Lahj on Thursday but were unable to move along it due to landmines and Houthi sniper fire coming from Han Mountain where the rebels had stationed themselves.
Once the mountain had been recaptured, it was easy for loyalist forces to also take control of the surrounding hills and begin sweeping the area for mines, Mr Al Haq said.
"Cars and trucks began to enter Taez at midday, coming from Aden and some rural areas in Taez province," the resistance leader told The National.
Pro-government forces were now “chasing” the Houthis and allied renegade soldiers loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in the area of Al Robei, he added.
“This was the second step of the first plan, which aimed to break the siege from the western direction,” Mr Al Haq said, the first step being to push the Houthis from the road to Aden and Lahj. “We have other plans that aim to liberate the whole province from the Houthi rebels,” he added
Pro-government forces face huge challenges in retaking the entire province, however, with the Houthis receiving hefty reinforcements – both fighters and military vehicles – from the rebel-held provinces of Al Hodeida, Ibb and Dhammar.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae