Taiz — The Yemeni army and the popular resistance together succeeded in liberating most neighborhoods and residential areas of the Yemeni city of Al-Mokha in Taiz province from the grip of Houthi militias and deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh whose forces are now trying to use civilians as human shields.
A military source in Taiz zone told the Yemeni news agency SABA that the national army has cleared some districts off the remnants of the militia. Residents of Al-Mokha came out to greet the army and resistance in the liberated areas in downtown Al-Mokha.
He said the military battle is in progress chasing the remnants of the defeated militias after opening safe havens for the people to leave homes and residential areas.
The army said as many as 20 militia members surrendered to the Yemeni army and considered prisoners of war, some killed and others fled away.
Supporters of President Abdrabbu Mansour Hadi have been fighting for weeks to capture the small town, which once served as a main port for exporting coffee, from the Iran-aligned Houthi that has held it since early 2015.
The Yemeni Resistance stormed the city from the south, east and north. A large number of Houthi fighters were either killed or taken prisoner.
Residents in the city confirmed the city had been captured.
The advance cements Hadi supporters’ control over a large stretch of the Red Sea coast from the strategic Bab Al-Mandab Strait to Al-Mokha and paves the way for an advance on Hodeidah, located some 185 km (115 miles) to the north. Hodeidah is Yemen’s main port for food imports for the country of 26 million people. — Agencies
