As part of a military operation dubbed the “Cyclone of the South”, the forces of the Giants Brigades managed on Saturday to liberate Usaylan, one of the largest districts of the Yemeni governorate of Shabwa, from the grip of the Houthi militias. The same forces are currently preparing to liberate the neighboring districts of Ain and Bayhan, their military media reported.
Yemeni Prime Minister Dr. Moeen Abdulmalik praised “the field victories achieved by the Giants forces and the army in liberating the Usaylan district from the control of the Houthi coup militia,” the official Yemeni news agency (Saba) reported.
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, military expert and Yemeni researcher Abdul-Wahhab Buhaibah described the progress in Usaylan as “a very important step towards the liberation of the rest of Shabwa regions.”
He added that this development “will pave the way for the liberation of the districts of Al-Juba and Jabal Murad in Marib.”
The Governor of Shabwa directed the head of the security committee in the governorate, Awad Al-Awlaki, to impose a state of emergency and a curfew in the districts of Bayhan, Usaylan and Ain.
Saba agency quoted the governor as saying: “The territories of the three districts are the scene of war operations and battles waged by the heroes of the national army in the face of the Houthi militias…”
Meanwhile, the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen announced the continuation of air support operations for the Yemeni army and the popular resistance forces on the Marib fronts, as battles against militias are ongoing on the southern and western fronts of the governorate.
According to a tweet published by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Coalition stated that it carried out “23 targeting operations against the Houthi militia in Marib within 24 hours, destroying 17 military vehicles and eliminating more than 160 terrorist elements.”
On another field level, the military media reported that the Yemeni army forces thwarted on Saturday an infiltration attempt by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on army positions in the Safra district in the Saada governorate.
