RIYADH — Col. Turki Al-Malki, spokesman of the Coalition forces supporting legitimacy in Yemen, said that the military operations carried out by the Yemeni National Army and the Popular Resistance, aided by the command of the Coalition forces, continue to achieve successes and victories on many fronts within Yemen and the Iran-backed Houthi militias are on the retreat.

Addressing a press conference at the Armed Forces Officers Club in Riyadh on Monday, Al-Malki said that the forces have made continuous progress in their advancement on battlefronts in Hodeidah, Saada, Midi, Hajjah and Nahm, and that resulted in inflicting heavy losses to the Houthi militia. In a message from the Coalition command to the people of Yemen, Al-Malki said that the Yemeni citizens should be alerted against the lies unleashed by the Iran-backed terrorist militia.

The spokesman said that the control of the Hodeidah airport by the forces is very imminent, stressing that the port of Hodeidah is a strategic military target through which these terrorist militias receive weapons provided to them by Iran to deliberately trigger chaos in Yemen, and threaten maritime navigation in the Straits of Bab Al-Mandab.

Al-Malki also spoke about the progress of the political process in Yemen, the most recent of which was the visit of the new UN envoy Martin Griffith to Yemen in early June, during which he met with the Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi and some representatives of the countries in the region, before moving to Sanaa. His efforts and various initiatives to find a political solution were rejected by the Houthi militias, Al-Malki said.

The spokesman also briefed on the work of the international humanitarian organizations in all Yemeni territories, and delivery of aid through land, air and sea crossings. On the military operations on the border strip adjacent to the southern border of Saudi Arabia, Malki pointed out that the Coalition forces secured many sites and large areas on this border, and completely foiled attempts by the Houthis for infiltration. – SG