Yemen’s army troops and allied fighters from popular committees have purged 26 kilometers of land in Hajjah Province of Saudi-backed militants.
According to al-Masirah television network, the media bureau of Yemen's Operations Command Center on Wednesday released scenes from a large-scale military operation conducted in Bani Hassan and Hayran in Hajjah.
During the operation, the report said, the Yemeni forces took control of 11 villages, including al-Thahr, al-Okashia, al-Naqrama, al-Manjoura, al-Fondoq, al-Baydaa, and al-Shabakah, as well as scores of positions of the Saudi-backed militants and Sudanese mercenaries in Bani Hassan and Hayran, with a total area of about 26 square kilometers.
The report did not identify when the offensive occurred.
More than 200 militants and mercenaries were killed and injured during the operation, while the remaining fled the region. The Yemeni forces also seized their military equipment.
The military achievement took place while the Saudi warplanes were conducting tens of airstrikes in a bid to support the militants and hinder the progress of the Yemeni forces.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies — including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — launched a brutal war against Yemen in March 2015. The war was meant to eliminate Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstall a former regime.
The conflict, accompanied by a tight siege, has failed to reach its goals, but has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemeni people.
The Saudi-led coalition has been preventing fuel shipments from reaching Yemen, while looting the impoverished nation’s resources.
The Saudi war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories.
The UN refers to the situation in Yemen as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Yemeni armed forces and the popular committees have grown steadily in strength against the Saudi-led invaders, and left Riyadh and its allies bogged down in the country.