Yemeni Forces Strike Saudi-Backed Positions in Ma'rib and Hadhramaut

Yemeni media reported on Thursday that the Yemeni army carried out a large-scale operation involving ballistic missiles and drones targeting enemy troop concentrations and command centers in the al-Ruwaik area of Ma'rib Province, as well as the al-Abr, al-Thaniyah, and al-Wadiah districts in Hadhramaut Governorate.

Speaking to al-Masirah TV, a Yemeni army source said the operation killed and wounded many Saudi-linked mercenaries, while destroying their military camps, weapons depots, and armored vehicles. The report by al-Masirah described Yemen's shift toward preemptive strikes as a strategy to disrupt Saudi forces' preparations and limit their ability to determine the timing and location of any future escalation.

The fresh attacks killed at least 58 mercenaries and injured dozens, according to a Saudi military source who spoke on condition of anonymity to AFP. Meanwhile, Ma'rib Governor Ali Tuaiman and Hadramout Governor Luqman Baras, in separate statements, warned Yemenis against fighting in the ranks of the enemy.

For more than a decade, Yemen has been gripped by conflict involving the popular Ansarullah resistance group, as well as rival militants supported separately by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Saudi Arabia waged a devastating war on Yemen in March 2015, but it failed to reinstall a Riyadh-friendly regime there. In 2022, the kingdom agreed to a ceasefire with Ansarullah, which has been running state affairs in the absence of a functional government in Sana'a.

Last month, Yemen declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi Arabia's unjust land, sea, and air siege for nearly 12 years, the kingdom's plundering of the country's resources, and recent Saudi attacks on Sana'a International Airport. According to a Press TV report, on Thursday, Yemen's Sana'a-based Government commended the Armed Forces' operation against major Saudi military mobilizations and praised the Yemeni force's readiness to defend the nation's efforts to lift the oppressive Saudi siege.

The Supreme Political Council said that Yemen will continue the "blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation" policy until the nation secures its freedom and independence, warning that any military mobilization by the enemy will be met with "painful" strikes. "Saudi ground and naval mobilizations will not deter our people from pursuing their legitimate rights and ending the injustice against them," it added. It further held Saudi Arabia fully responsible for the consequences of any escalation, stressing that the kingdom has no option but to lift the blockade on Yemen, cease its aggression, and respect the legitimate rights of the Yemeni people. According to Mehr News Agency, the report was originally published by Press TV.