Yemen Army Retakes Major Military Camp in Jawf

The “largest coalition camp” near the border was seized back on Tuesday, Yemeni media reported.

“The army and the popular committees fought fierce battles today, during which they were able to fully control the al-Khanjar camp and Buraq al-Sheraa, as well as several military sites in al-Yatama front in Khab Washaaf district in Jawf province,” according to a local source, the Middle East Monitor reported.

The camp was occupied by Saudi-backed forces last month, in an attempt to reverse the Houthi Ansarullah movement’s gains in the province including its capital al-Hazm the week before.

Yemeni troops seized al-Hazm, the capital city of the neighboring al-Jawf province in early March.

Elsewhere, in spite of reports that the Saudi-backed militants had gained control of key areas in the central province of Bayda, in particular, the Qaniyah front, the Yemen Press Agency reported that the Yemeni military forces had, in fact, seized control of the important sites in Qaniya, including full control of the Bayyad mountains.

The offense by the Saudi-backed forces was described as an “abortive” attempt to infiltrate the area.

The news agency also reported that 12 airstrikes were carried out by Saudi-led coalition warplanes over the Natie and Qaniya districts in Bayda province.

Yemeni armed forces have edged closer to liberating Ma’rib after taking control of Jawf, which borders Saudi Arabia.

The US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), a nonprofit conflict-research organization, estimates that the Saudi war has claimed more than 100,000 lives in Yemen since 2015.

The UN says over 24 million Yemenis are now in dire need of humanitarian aid, including 10 million suffering from extreme levels of hunger.