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Yemen forces kill dozens of Riyadh’s mercenaries

Sunday, 20 December 2015 7:51 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 20 December 2015 7:51 AM ]

Houthi Ansarullah fighters hold weapons as they chant slogans in the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, December 15, 2015. © AP

The Yemeni army, backed by Houthi Ansarullah fighters, has carried out retaliatory attacks against Saudi bases, killing dozens of Riyadh’s mercenaries.

More than 85 mercenaries from various countries, including Sudan and a number of Persian Gulf Arab states, were killed in a Qaher ballistic missile attack on the al-Safer military base in Yemen’s central province of Ma’rib, al-Masirah television network reported on Saturday.

According to the report, a number of military vehicles and a special drone unit at the base were destroyed.

In another missile attack, nearly 80 mercenaries, including a top commander, were killed and 100 others injured at the at-Tuwal military base in the southwestern Saudi province of Jizan. Eight Chinook helicopters, two Apache copters and several tanks were destroyed.

The regime in Riyadh launched the campaign against Yemen on March 26. It was meant to undermine Ansarullah and restore power to fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi. More than 7,500 people have been killed and over 14,000 others injured ever since.

Forces loyal to Yemen’s fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, man a position in the area of Sirwah, west of the Yemeni province of Ma'rib, December 18, 2015. © AFP

Meanwhile, delegations representing Ansarullah and Hadi are attending UN-brokered peace talks in Switzerland with the aim of reaching a permanent ceasefire. The warring sides agreed on Saturday to form a committee to oversee a fragile truce that has been violated several times.

Sources close to the talks said the two delegations agreed on the fifth day of talks to have the ceasefire violation cases monitored by the UN-proposed committee, which, according to reports, will be headed by a Lebanese army general.

Ansarullah and its allies in the Yemeni army have recorded numerous cases of truce violation by Saudi Arabia and militants loyal to Hadi, saying Riyadh had intensified its campaign against Yemen in a bid to take advantage of the truce.

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