Arab Coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Maliki told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday that Coalition forces targeted Houthi checkpoints as part of military efforts to undermine the rebels and support the legitimate Yemeni government.
Coalition forces are closing in on the Iran-backed Houthis from the east of Sanaa, from the west coast as well as Saada from the north, placing the militias under their grip.
Yemeni military sources said Houthis are using checkpoints to terrorize citizens and recruit young men by force of arms.
“The militias have forced a Yemeni citizen to leave two of his three kids at a Houthi checkpoint,” sources said, adding that the children will be recruited under the pretext of defending their country.
Commenting on the latest military developments in Yemen, Yemeni political researcher Najib Ghalab told Asharq Al-Awsat: “There is a leap in the military plans of the Coalition and the legitimate government.”
Their strategy has focused on killing first and second rank Houthis and targeting control centers and checkpoints in Sanaa, he said.
Meanwhile, military advances in the province of Saada constitute an important development in the battle against Houthi rebels, considering that after their defeat, Iran plans to turn the area into a closed zone.
Ghalab also said the liberation of Hodeidah would contribute to besieging the militias in central Yemen by opening other fronts in Ibb and Yarim.
Separately, local sources in Sanaa said that after Coalition forces hit the office of the presidency this week, Houthis restricted the activity of UN agencies in the capital.
