Saudi, UAE Forces Partially Withdraw from Yemen’s Marib

By Staff, Agencies

Saudi and Emirati forces reportedly implemented a partial withdrawal from Yemen’s key city of Marib amid decisive advances by the Arab country’s armed forces in the west-central province.

Riyadh has pulled out its forces from Marib, while Abu Dhabi has taken out its US-made Patriot missile systems, Sultan al-Arada, Marib’s governor loyal to Yemen’s former Saudi-backed administration, confessed in comments to Yemeni media on Tuesday.

Also on Tuesday, Lebanon’s al-Akhbar daily published a report, detailing the latest stage of the army’s advances.

According to the report, Yemeni soldiers have been taking control of strategic spots, including villages and military positions, across the western and north-western fronts around the provincial capital over the past 24 hours.

The paper said the victories indicated the military strength of the army and the Popular Committees. The military prowess, it said, had enabled the forces to overcome the areas’ rough and desert terrains at the same time as they were under the constant fire of Saudi and Emirati warplanes.

Yemen’s defenders, it added, have engaged in fierce clashes with forces tied to the former government in Marib’s Sirwah District, overcoming the enemy.

This is while the Saudi-led coalition and its mercenaries are being backed by extremist militias and Takfiri Daesh [the Arabic acronym for terrorist ‘ISIS/ISIL’ group] elements that receive Riyadh’s support in return, al-Akhbar added.

Amid the advances, the coalition’s warplanes carried out as many as 16 airstrikes against Sirwah, targeting the ammunition dumps there.

The Yemeni armed forces are also nearing the Sahn al-Jin military camp in Marib that hosts the former government’s defense ministry, said the daily.