The Governor of Jazan Prince Muhammad bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz during his visit to injured members of the military forces (SPA)

Saudi-led coalition forces fighting for the legitimacy of Yemen announced that military operations in the city of Taiz are progressing according to plan and gradually, and this is so that population density is taken into consideration. Both the national army of Yemen and the resistance are preparing to target the city’s outskirts and shift its military operations from a defensive position to an offensive one.

Saudi Arabian armed forces averted several attempts by Houthi rebels to infiltrate its southern borders. Houthis are using child soldiers in the border areas after suffering grave losses in their ranks as a result of the Saudi military operation.

Brigadier General Ahmed Asiri, Saudi Arabia’s coalition spokesman and aide to the Saudi Minister of Defence’s office, told Asharq Al-Awsat that Saudi armed forces prevented Houthi militia attempts to infiltrate its borders with Yemen in the past few days. Houthi militants have not spared any effort on attacking the Saudi-Yemen frontier since the start of the military campaign, often making attempts whenever the coalition strikes insurgents.

Brigadier Asiri also stated in a telephone interview that Houthi militias alongside followers of the deposed Ali Abdullah Saleh understand that the coalition of Arab countries fighting for Yemen’s legitimacy is Saudi-led. Without downplaying the efforts of coalition member countries, Saudi forces are fully armed and prepared around the clock along the country’s borders, aware that Houthi attempts to cross stem from a need of vengeance and media attention.

Asiri also said that the coalition targets any attempt that aims to attack the legitimacy of Yemen without discrimination, but focuses on striking control centres run by both Houthi militants and followers of Saleh. Given that these centres head, direct, and fund armed operations, all those participating in such areas will meet their fate, with no exceptions.

Asiri added that the militant groups in these centres operate on a multiple hierarchy formation, with numerous small groups dispersed across Yemen answering to one commander. They have field leaders, sponsors, providers of artillery and ammunition, alongside other parties hosting and preparing them.

Brigadier Asiri confirmed that all Houthis attacking Saudi Arabia’s borders are between 13-15 years old and are all armed combatants. Houthi militias along with the followers of Saleh have used various means to recruit children and prepare them to fight. The children have been taken away forcefully from their families or from orphanages. Many were brainwashed by the militant groups. The fact that the Houthis are arming children indicates the degree to which their ranks have suffered losses.

Saudi troops stationed along the southern borders have averted militant attempts to infiltrate, resulting in the exchange of fire. Three Saudi soldiers so far have died in the attacks.

Major General Mansour Al-Turki, a security spokesman for Saudi’s Ministry of Interior clarified that border guards at the Al-Hirth sector of the Jizan region have also counteracted infiltration attempts in the area. Militants typically use machine guns and target the border guard surveillance centre, but the return fire often forces them to retreat back to Yemen.