Prime Minister of Yemen Dr Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr lauded the "heroic" role being played by the Arab Coalition, along with the Yemeni National Army and the popular resistance, to defend Yemen and restore the state institutions from the coup militias of Houthis and ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

''The Yemeni people will always remember the military and relief assistance provided by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition. Their assistance consolidated the presence of the legitimate government on the ground and helped it retake 80 percent of the country's land,'' Dr Daghr said during a meeting with the commanders of the Arab Coalition in Aden on Friday.

''Operations 'Decisive Storm' and 'Restoring Hope', launched by the Arab Coalition, have saved Yemen at a critical juncture and time and prevented the collapse of the State. The Arab Coalition managed to stop the expansion of the Iranian influence in the region, facilitating a paradigm shift in our modern history,'' he stated.

''Supported by the Arab Coalition, the Yemeni government is making significant efforts to improve services in the interim capital, Aden, and rebuild state institutions, destroyed by the coup militias,'' he added.

Victories on the ground, he stressed, had made a strategic transformation that will help the government to impose national will and force the militias to accept a political solution, based on the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its implementation mechanism, the outcome of the National Dialogue, and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

The commander of the coalition noted that the retaking of the Khalid ibn Al Waleed camp marked the beginning of a shift in military operations.

''Our goals are to restore the state, end the coup, and offer humanitarian and relief assistance to the Yemeni people,'' he said.

He affirmed that advances in the battle field would continue to liberate other governorates from the clutches of the Houthi-Saleh militias.

Source: Wam