Jizan, Amman, Asharq al-Awsat – Information made available to Asharq al-Awsat from sources in Sa’dah has indicated that the naval blockade imposed by the Saudi navy on northern Yemen’s Red Sea coasts is tantamount to a lethal blow to many of the infiltrators’ dreams and plans. It indicated that these plans concern the weapons supplied from abroad through the Red Sea in addition to the insurgents’ desire to have a sea outlet during their battles with the Yemeni army.

The sources asserted that the infiltrators fought desperately to seize the Port of “Midi” on Yemen’s north coast which overlooks the Red Sea and chanted slogans like “we will fast Ramadan in Midi” at the start of the war and then came out with another slogan after their failure to achieve their objective saying “Id al-Fitr in Midi” which in turn they failed to achieve. The sources also stressed that the frontline in the fighting with the Yemeni army in Al-Malahiz area which is close to the Saudi-Yemeni border strip included attempts to expand south and seize areas leading to the Port of Midi. The fighting started in northern areas and spread to the south all along the border strip. Official Yemeni leaders had earlier asserted that reaching Midi was an obvious Huthist strategy during the sixth war confrontations. The port is seen as one of the outlets for the smuggling of weapons and supplies to the Huthists.

Saudi naval forces have been deployed all along the territorial waters in the Red Sea since the start of the clashes with the infiltrators in Jazan, southwest of Saudi Arabia to monitor their movements, cut off their supplies, and secure the region according to navy sources.

In this regard, Saudi military sources have disclosed that Saudi warplanes are targeting and destroying military vehicles which the infiltrators are using in their attacks on Saudi territories and said the infiltrators seized these military vehicles during the fighting with the Yemeni army. They also reported that Saudi warplanes raided the infiltrators’ positions in Jabal Rumayh and Wadi al-Mawqid. The sounds of explosions were heard continuously all day long yesterday.

It was disclosed yesterday that three Saudi soldiers were killed and others injured in an attack by the infiltrators and the injuries of some of them were said to be “very critical” which required their evacuation to the King Fahd Central Hospital in Abi Arish. Asharq Al-Awsat learned that the dead soldiers are Majid Hayif al-Shammari, Fasial Abdal-Rahman al-Khaybari, and Muhammad Atiyah al-Zahrani. The other injuries were said to be between slight and medium and all of them resulting from bullets. Medical sources in Samitah General Hospital reported that the hospital started to receive the casualties from the battlefront since yesterday afternoon while several ambulances were seen heading from the battlefront to the hospital.