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Pro-gov't forces retake key airbase in Yemen

Xinhua, August 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Pro-government forces have retaken a strategic airbase in southern Yemen, a sign that the four-month civil war began to shift toward exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, a military commander told Xinhua on Tuesday.

After a week of fighting, the pro-government forces managed to drive the Shiite Houthi militia out of the southern Lahj province and took over control of the al-Anad airbase in the country, the commander of the fourth regional military command told Xinhua on Tuesday.

The al-Anad airbase is the largest in the country which was used by U.S. troops to oversee drone attacks against the al-Qaida. It was overrun by the Houthi group in late March, forcing Hadi who was in the temporary capital of Aden 90 km away to flee to the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Security sources said around 1,500 ground troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab of Emirates, as well as another 1,500 Yemeni soldiers trained in Saudi Arabia, joined the battles on Monday to take al-Anad airbase.

They said at least 40 Houthi fighters were killed and up to 60 others wounded, while hundreds of Houthis managed to retreat to the neighboring Taiz province.

The fall of Al-Anad airbase is a blow to the Houthi group and its ally ex-President Ali Abdullash Saleh, who played down their setbacks and vowed to keep fighting on the territories under their control. The Houthis still control half of Yemen including the capital Sanaa.

Hadi was ousted by the Shiite Houthi group who had controlled the capital Sanaa since September. He fled to Aden, the temporary capital as he declared, in late February after weeks of house arrest, and has been taking refuge with his cabinet in Riyadh since March 26.

The exiled government announced "liberation" of Aden on July 17, saying "it is the first step to liberate the whole country."

After the victory in Lahj and Aden, pro-Hadi forces armed by the Saudi-led coalition started to advance to Taiz city, the provincial capital of Taiz province and third largest city in the country.

Residents in Taiz city said Tuesday they saw the most violent fighting since the war began four months ago. They said the coalition's warplanes struck Houthi targets all night.

The overnight airstrikes also pounded two military sites and Houthi's arms depot in the oil-rich Marib province and Abyan province.

Exiled Yemeni Prime Minister Khaled Bahah, together with his six ministers, visited the Aden city on Saturday for several hours. Local officials said they expect the return of the exiled government soon, after the victory in al-Anad airbase. Endit