Middle-east Arab News Opinion | Asharq Al-awsat

Yemeni Army Fights Inside Mokha | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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This photo released on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2010, by the Iranian Defense Ministry, reportedly shows a launch of the Karrar drone aircraft. (File photo: AFP)


Taiz, Abu Dhabi – The Yemeni Army now controls the downtown of the Mokha city after it had liberated the port and other large areas in the coastal region.

A Yemeni military official said on Saturday that Yemeni government forces had succeeded to advance in the Red Sea port of Mokha city following fierce battles.

The source said that forces allied with Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and supported by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition forces were capable of recuperating the police station and several streets inside the city, in addition to controlling all government buildings and security administrations.

Meanwhile, Coalition forces managed on Saturday to destroy a military drone in northern Mokha. The military drone was at a mobile launching platform, intended to target Yemeni forces participating in the liberation of Mokha city and port, military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.

The United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM reported on Saturday that rebel militias have started using Iranian-made drones, which are being smuggled to Yemen.

Deputy Chief of General Staff of Yemeni Armed Forces Gen. Ahmed Saif Al-Yafei said that Yemeni forces detected the military drone during surveillance of North Mokha Area, adding that the military drone was about to take off for its mission when it was destroyed by an air to surface missile in coordination with the UAE Air Force operating in Yemen, UAE’s state news agency WAM reported.

Gen. Al-Yafei said that the rebel militias – after being trapped – have started using the smuggled weapons from Iran to Yemen, including this military drone.

The presence of Iranian weapons in Yemen foils any chance to politically solve the Yemeni crisis, and rather ignites the war as Tehran tries to enforce its presence in Yemen and create an authority similar to that of “Hezbollah” in Lebanon.

Separately, military commanding officer at the axis of Taiz, Maj. Gen. Khalid Fadhel asserted the need to combine efforts to get rid of the pro-coup militias and the Iranian enterprise, which aims to stabilize the country.

According to the official Yemeni news agency, a meeting chaired by Fadhel and attended by a number of military and security officials, endorsed the abolition of the names of the factions and all banners starting Saturday, and the join of military brigades to maintain order and to strengthen unity and embodiment of the principles of the armed forces.