Al Mukalla: Yemen government forces on Saturday morning liberated most of a strategic district near Bab Al Mandab Strait in a renewed push to drive Al Houthi rebels out of cities along the Red Sea, a senior army commander said on Saturday.

Major General Fadhel Hassan, the commander of Aden-based 4th Military Region told Gulf News that his forces stormed Dhobab after a new offensive that began on Friday night.

“We have liberated almost all the Dhobab and Al Wazyia regions,” he said.

About the significance of the territorial gains on the Red Sea, Hassan said that Bab Al Mandab would be safe from possible Al Houthis attacks and would put the government forces closer to Mocha — a town in Taiz province.

Fighter jets from the Saudi-led Arab coalition launched intense air strikes on Al Houthi rebels positions and mobile reinforcements that arrived in Dhobab and other neighbouring areas.

Dozens of Houthi fighters were killed in the fighting with government forces.

Hassan said his forces received a new shipment of modern arms from the Saudi-led Arab coalition.

Military experts say government and coalition forces have mounted the fresh assault in order to kick Al Houthis out of areas along the Red Sea.

It will help secure the vital shipping passage from Houthi missile attacks that have threatened both military and commercial ships in the past.

In October, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched missile attacks on a US Navy destroyer, after which the US destroyed their radar systems.

Houthis also attacked a UAE-owned ship carrying injured civilians in the Red Sea in October.

Brigadier General Abdo Moujali, a spokesperson for the army, told Gulf News that government forces took control of a part of Al Ameri mountain, near Dhobab and were advancing towards Mocha. These areas serve as a vital arms supply route for Houthi rebels.

Also in Taiz, government forces pushed Houthis out of Sharif Al Anen and Al Oud mountains on the western edges of the city, said Moujali.

“These two strategic locations overlook the main road that links the city of Taiz with city of Hodeida. This means cutting the supply line to Houthis.” he said.

In the northern province of Saada, government forces fought their way into rugged mountains after tightening their grip on Brigade 101 and a border crossing with Saudi Arabia.

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