A day after the rebels’ latest missile attack on Abu Dhabi, militias said on Tuesday Yemen’s Houthi rebels had been driven out of a key district by a United Arab Emirates-trained giants brigade.
The Iran-backed Houthis lost the Harib district south of Marib, the strategically important northern city they have been fighting to take down for months.
The Giants Brigade said fighting that lasted more than two weeks had “killed and wounded hundreds of people on both sides” and also secured the neighboring governorate of Shabwa. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
“We thank the Arab Coalition for their support for our operation in Shabwa, which was crowned with complete success,” a statement from the Giants Brigade said.
The conflict is part of a major escalation in a seven-year war following the Houthis following a deadly drone-and-missile attack on the United Arab Emirates last week, after a series of regional defeats.
The Saudi-led pro-government coalition that includes the United Arab Emirates hit back with a series of airstrikes, one of which killed at least three children and plunged Yemen into a four-day internet outage.
Internet services were restored early Tuesday, a web monitor and AFP reporters said.
On Monday, rebels resumed their attack on Abu Dhabi after two ballistic missiles were intercepted, scattering debris over the city.
US officials said US forces based at the capital’s Al Dhafra airbase fired Patriot missiles to help stop the attack, while some of them also went into bunkers.
‘Disturbing growth’
The UAE, which pulled most of its troops out of Yemen in 2019 but maintained support and training for pro-government forces, warned of a “thorough and comprehensive response” to the latest barrage.
“The UAE reserves the right to respond against these terrorist attacks and such tremendous criminal escalation,” a statement from the foreign ministry said.
Two people were injured in more rebel missile attacks in southern Saudi Arabia on Monday.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price called the Houthi attacks and coalition air strikes “a disturbing escalation.”
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also met with envoys from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to “discuss ongoing Houthi attacks against civilian targets resulting in civilian casualties in both countries,” the White House said in a statement on Monday. Went”.
The rebels warned of further attacks on the United Arab Emirates after repelling their latest missile strike. Three oil workers died in their opening salvo on 17 January.
Recent developments have heightened regional tensions and further complicated the stubborn Yemen conflict, which is being fought on multiple fronts.
According to the United Nations, which calls it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, the poor country has killed more than 150,000 people and displaced millions.
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