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Clashes, missiles leave Yemen truce in tatters
A Yemen ceasefire appeared to have collapsed on Friday as government forces captured two towns from rebels and the Saudi-led coalition accused the Iran-backed insurgents of firing two ballistic missiles.
Forces loyal to President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and allied tribesmen on Friday captured Hazm, the capital of northern Jawf province, after making significant gains in the neighbouring region of Marib, tribal sources said. A day earlier government troops captured the border town of Haradh after crossing over from Saudi Arabia, where they have been trained and equipped, military sources said. About 1,000 soldiers are involved in the operation in Haradh, an official said, adding that "intensive fighting took place" in the town, which has a population of around 25,000 people. He said dozens of renegade troops allied with the Houthi rebels had been killed. The advancing force is now just a few kilometres away from the Red Sea port of Midi, which has been under rebel control since 2010, military sources said. The coalition said on Friday that Saudi air defences had intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Yemen, while another struck a desert area east of the Saudi city of Najran. The coalition warned that the ceasefire would not hold if violations persisted.
Posted by: Steve White 2015-12-19 |
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