The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces says three Saudi military brigades were completely destroyed after Yemeni Army troops, backed by allied fighters from Popular Committees, mounted a large-scale military offensive in the kingdom’s southern border region of Najran.
Speaking at a press conference in the capital Sana’a on Saturday evening, Brigadier General Yahya Saree described the major and efficient operation, dubbed God’s Victory, as the biggest-ever since Saudi Arabia and some of its allies embarked an atrocious military campaign on Yemen more than four years ago, noting that the offensive lasted several months and inflicted dramatic losses – both in terms of military hardware and personnel – upon the enemy, the media bureau of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement said in a statement.
“The operation resulted in the complete destruction of three military brigades of the enemy (Saudi) forces, seizure of large quantities of military equipment, including hundreds of vehicles and armored vehicles, capture of thousands of enemy forces, mostly traitors and the beguiled (Saudi-sponsored Yemeni militiamen loyal to Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi). Hundreds more were killed and wounded in the process as well,” Saree pointed out.
The high-profile Yemeni military official highlighted that Saudi commanders, officers and soldiers are among those captured by Yemeni forces and Popular Committees fighters.
“Only 72 hours after the start of the operation, our forces laid full siege to enemy troops. Three brigades of traitors with units of the Saudi army were completely destroyed, and scores of people taken hostage,” Saree said.
He added, “Under the directives of the leadership [of Ansarullah movement, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi], all prisoners were treated according to the principles of Islam, Yemen’s customs and traditions as well as human ethics. Our forces worked to protect thousands of surrendered enemy forces against retaliatory raids by the coalition of aggression.”
Saree then assured all families of the prisoners that Yemeni forces and their allies would take further measures to save them from harm against Saudi-led airstrikes.
The spokesman for Yemeni Armed Forces went on to say that several specialized units of Yemeni Armed Forces participated in the operation in different geographical areas, and that Yemeni army forces and their allies could wrest control over hundreds of square kilometers of land in Najran.
Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies launched a devastating campaign against Yemen in March 2015, with the goal of bringing the government of Hadi back to power and crushing Ansarullah.
The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the war has claimed more than 91,000 lives over the past four and a half years.
The war has also taken a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure, destroying hospitals, schools, and factories. The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.
