(WASHINGTON, DC) - Ten days into Operation Decisive Storm, military operations by a coalition of nations led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been successful at thwarting the Houthi militia’s goal of taking over Yemen.
Brig. Gen. Ahmed bin Hasan Asiri, the spokesman for the coalition, said the Houthi weapons depots have been “devastated,” and that the remaining ballistic missiles, particularly mobile missiles, are being “destroyed” along with the facilities they are stored in. Houthi commanders have been successfully targeted in air strikes in an effort to destroy their command, control and communications.
Houthis Are Not In Control of Aden
The coalition has effectively denied the Houthis control of the key port city of Aden, and has forced them to withdraw from an empty presidential palace they temporarily held there.
In Aden, clearing operations are underway. Local government forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi are targeting small isolated pockets of Houthi militias to rid them from the few reinforced positions they still occupy. The remainder of the Houthi militias have scattered in different directions in the northern and central part of Yemen.
Coalition officials have also confirmed that Al-Dhalea and Shabwa are now under the control of local governments and the regular Yemeni army loyal to the legitimate government. The situation around Aden is currently stable,” said Brig. General Asiri.
No Civilian or Non- Military Locations Have Been Targeted
Brig. Gen. Asiri, said that the coalition forces have not targeted civilians or non-military targets, specifically, the milk factory in Hodaida and the Mazraq refugee camp in Hajjah. “The Yemeni government investigators on the ground have verified that the two controversial sites were hit by ground-to-ground shells, not from a coalition operation. An international investigation will be launched to hold the culprits of these attacks responsible,” he said.
Saudi Arabia Seeks A Political Solution
“We need a political solution to end the divisions that exist in Yemen and prevent a radical group from taking over the country, as part of a foreign-driven agenda that seeks to divide and destroy Yemen, and create instability in the region,” said the Saudi Ambassador to the United States, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir.
