Saudi, UAE Military to Create ‘Security Belt’ Around Southern Yemen’s Aden

Coalition officials have said they aim to move north to retake Sana’a from the Houthis, who are backed by former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Coalition warplanes hit military bases on the capital’s Nahdain and Fajj Attan hills and the neighbouring presidential complex, south of Sana’a, as well as a special forces headquarters.

The attack killed 45 Emirati soldiers, five Bahrainis, 10 Saudis and four Yemenis.

The Houthi rebels described the attack as revenge for “crimes” committed by the Saudi-led coalition, which has carried out months of air strikes in Yemen.

Militias and army units loyal to exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has taken refuge in Saudi Arabia, have made advances toward Sanaa in the last two months.

A Saudi led coalition is trying to bring back the discourage president, who left as a Houthi took control over much of the country.

Friday’s attack on Gulf troops was the deadliest the UAE has ever experienced and was the heaviest amount of casualties suffered in Yemen by the coalition since it was formed in March.

WAM said the UAE air force struck a mine-making plant in the Houthi-dominated Saada province in northern Yemen, as well as military camps and weapon stores in the central Ibb province, causing “heavy damage”. “We will press ahead until we purge Yemen of the scum”, he added, in a likely reference to Houthi militiamen and their allies.

Military sources said Qatari forces were on their way to Yemen and preparing to join a new push on Houthi positions in the capital Sanaa – though they told Reuters the soldiers had not yet entered the Arabian Peninsula country.

Following a series of victories, the Houthis lost the southern port of Aden in July, when the UAE deployed troops and armored vehicles to bolster Saudi special forces and Yemeni fighters in the country.

At least five other Emirati soldiers have been killed in Yemen since the offensive began.

Obama said the two sides “share concerns” about the need to restore a functioning government in Yemen and relieve its humanitarian crisis.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to brief reporters.

Up to 4,500 people have now been killed in the conflict, including hundreds of children, with the United Nations issuing desperate appeals for foreign donors after it revealed an estimated 80 per cent of the population needed humanitarian aid in June.