Al Mukalla and the neighbouring regions of Hadramout have been completely liberated from Al Qaida’s occupation, which began in 2015, Yemeni president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi said during a surprise visit to the region.

He also said Yemeni forces were making territorial gains outside of Sana’a, which has been occupied by Iran-backed Al Houthi militants for two years.

At a meeting with senior government and military officials in Al Mukalla, Hadi said on Sunday the city is poised to serve as model for other liberated provinces since its victory against Al Qaida.

“Hadramout [province] today is recovering and rising again thanks to the sacrifices of its people and the help of the [Arab] coalition, led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” Hadi said, according to the state-run Saba news agency.

The internationally-recognised president’s visit is the first since government forces, with massive military help from the coalition, recaptured the strategic city from Al Qaida on April 24.

The militant group seized major cities in Hadramout like Al Mukalla, Shaher, Ghayel and small regions on the Arab Sea in April last year.

Thousands of army forces, trained by UAE military officers in Hadramout’s eastern desert, purged the terrorists from their strongholds and have also thwarted several revenge attacks.

On Sunday, Hadi ordered the construction of a police academy in Hadramout, which plans to absorb local resistance fighters into the security apparatus. He also announced the reopening of Al Mukalla International Airport.

Unlike other liberated provinces in Yemen, Hadramout’s capital and other cities have enjoyed peace and stability since early this year despite attempts by Al Qaida and Daesh to disrupt order.

Meanwhile in the north of the country, government forces launched, for the second day, a string of assaults on Al Houthi positions in the Nehim district of Sana’a, triggering heavy clashes that killed and injured dozens of fighters on both sides. Abdullah Al Shandaqi, a spokesperson for Sana’a resistance, said on Monday government soldiers took control of a mountain in Nehim and shelled the Al Houthi-controlled Arhab district.

Official media said the government forces pushed Al Houthis out of Al Nahedi mountain, Al Ougran dam and the surrounding hilly areas. Warplanes from the Saudi-led coalition struck Al Houthis military reinforcements in Nehim, destroying several armed vehicles.

Ali Mohsen Al Ahmar, the deputy commander of Yemen army forces, urged powerful tribes known as “security belt tribes” living on the outskirts of Sana’a, to join the advancing government forces and pave the way for recapturing the capital from Al Houthis.

The state-run Saba news agency posted photos of the powerful general inspecting a Nehim battlefield

source : gulfnews