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Saudi Forces Raid on 3 Yemeni Provinces, UN Envoy Calls for Immediate Halt to Fighting

March 10, 2020 

Site of a Saudi air strike on Al-Jawf, March 9, 2020	Yemeni victim of war, file, March 10, 2020

 

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The following news stories are from the Yemeni independent website Al-Masdar ( http://www.almasdaronline.com/category/42  ):

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Clashes continue in Al-Jawf as Houthis seek to consolidate control over the governorate

Almasdar Online -  News Room SUNDAY, 08 MARCH, 2020 -

Government forces repelled a series of attacks over the weekend in Al-Jawf that lasted for twenty straight hours at the Al-Salila front in Khab Al-Shaaf district, which is one of the last districts in Al-Jawf remaining under government control.

A military source working for Sixth Military Region told Almasdar Online that the Houthis launched a major, sustained attack in Al-Utamah area of Khab Al-Sha’af, but the army managed to repel them. The Houthi fighters suffered considerable losses of life and equipment, the source said, adding that Coalition aircraft launched several raids against the Houthi forces.

Khab Al-Shaaf, in addition to parts of Al-Hazm and Barat Anan districts, are the last bastions of government control remaining in Al-Jawf. The clashes over the weekend were the latest in a wider escalation between government forces and the Houthis across several frontlines between Marib and Sana’a cities.

On March 1, the Houthis advanced into Al-Hazm, the governorate capital of Al-Jawf, in a surprise advance that has placed the group in a strategic position for advancement toward Marib city and nearby oil and gas infrastructure. To deter further escalation, on Saturday UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths made his first visit to Marib city and met with Governor Sultan Al-Arada.

On first visit to Marib, UN Envoy calls for immediate halt to fighting

 Almasdar Online -  Newsroom SATURDAY, 07 MARCH, 2020

UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths met on Saturday with the governor of Marib, Sultan Al-Arada, to discuss measures to de-escalate the intensified fighting between government and Houthi forces. The envoy’s visit comes following the Houthis’ capture of Al-Hazm city in neighbouring Al-Jawf governorate on Sunday.

“Fighting needs to stop now,” Griffiths said at a press conference in the governorate capital, Marib city, located east of the capital Sana’a. “Military adventurism and the quest for territorial gains are futile.”

Fighting intensified at the beginning of the year across several frontlines between Marib and Sana’a cities, with a resurgence of clashes in Serwah district of Marib, Nihm district of Sana’a, and several districts in Al-Jawf. In one of the most significant shifts in territorial control in years, the Houthis advanced into the governorate capital of Al-Jawf on Sunday, March 1.

“I am here on a one-day visit to meet with local authorities, tribal chiefs, civil society, women and youth as well as displaced Yemenis to listen to their concerns and make sure the world hears them with me,” Griffiths said during his first visit to the governorate. He praised the local authorities for their efforts to welcome internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Al-Jawf and surrounding areas in light of recent events.

Governor Al-Arada in turn welcomed the UN envoy and thanked him for his visit and efforts to reduce the fighting. "We are with true peace and it doesn’t honor us nor the UN envoy to be with a false peace,” he said. “There is no stability or development without peace, but peace under the shadow of a militia is not peace.” 

Al-Arada said that the influx of more than a million IDPs to Marib during the war has placed a heavy burden on the governorate, and noted that IDPs continue to seek shelter in Marib from the ongoing clashes in neighboring governorates.

Meanwhile, nine civil society organizations called on the local authorities to speed up humanitarian assistance in Marib, warning that an unprecedented humanitarian disaster is likely if the fighting is not immediately resolved.

Yemen army recaptures part of Al-Jawf’s sparsely-populated Khab Al-Shaaf district

 Almasdar Online -  Newsroom MONDAY, 09 MARCH, 2020

Yemeni army forces recaptured the Al-Yutamah area in Khab Al-Shaaf district, the largest and least-populated district in Al-Jawf governorate, hours after the Houthi rebels seized it on Sunday, local residents and military officials told Almasdar Online.

With the support of Al-Jawf tribesmen, the government forces launched a counter-offensive against the Houthis and regained control of Al-Yutamah.

Government forces also pushed west, seizing the Al-Salilah mountains and other positions down to Wadi Al-Mahashima.

A large number of Houthis were killed and injured in the fighting, the residents and military officials said, adding that the army captured a number of Houthi fighters. The Houthis withdrew in a haphazard way, leaving behind weapons as they fled.

Meanwhile, Saudi-led coalition warplanes carried out a number of airstrikes on Houthi military positions and armed vehicles in various areas of Khab Al-Shaaf, a mostly desert district that borders Saudi Arabia.

Local residents said people in the Al-Yutamah area celebrated the army’s recapture of the area by firing gunshots in the air on Sunday evening.

Over the weekend, the army repelled a series of Houthi attacks in Al-Jawf during 20 hours of continuous fighting at the Al-Salilah front in Khab Al-Shaaf, which is one of the last districts in Al-Jawf under government control.

On Saturday, UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths called for an “immediate and unconditional” freeze on military activities during his  first visit to Marib city since the Houthis captured Al-Jawf.  

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The following news stories are from the pro-Houthi website Yemen Extra (http://www.yemenextra.net/):

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US-Saudi Aggression Launches Series of Raids on Number of Provinces

Mar 9, 2020, YemenExtra

The US_Saudi aggression Saturday launched a series of raids on a number of governorates.

In Al-Jawf, the US-Saudi forces launched 6 raids on Khob Wa Asha’af district. In Sa’adah, the aggression launched 2 raids on Kataf district.

In Hodeidah, 2 raids were launched on Al-Nar Mountain area in Al-Salif district in Violation to Stockholm Agreement.

In Marib, they launched 2 raids on a school in Baraqish area and destroyed it. They launched 4 raids on Sarwah and Majzar districts in the same governorate.

Man and Woman Injured by Saudi-Mercenaries’ Fire in Hodeidah

Mar 10, 2020, YemenExtra 

A man and a woman were wounded, Monday, when Saudi-mercenaries targeted At-Tohayta city in Hodeidah Governorate, according to a local source. 

Earlier, a military bulldozer operated by the US-Saudi forces developed combat fortifications in the Al-Jabaleah area of  At-tohayta District.

Mercenaries of US-Saudi aggression targeted with gunfire the common Operations Room in City-Max, responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Stockholm Agreement.

Yemen FM Discusses with UN’s Representative Humanitarian Situation in Yemen

Mar 9, 2020, YemenExtra  

Foreign Minister, Hisham Sharaf, on Sunday discussed with United Nations Resident Representative and Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen, Lise Grande, the Humanitarian and economic conditions in Yemen.

The meeting touched on the US-Saudi aggression its military operations, the blockade and the delay in the movement of oil derivative ships.

The activities carried out by United Nations organizations, programs and agencies operating in Yemen, and the assistance provided to the displaced and affected people in a number of provinces of the country were also reviewed during the meeting.

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