The Yemeni government announced the start of a military operation to regain territory

The armed forces of the internationally recognized government of Yemen have launched a military operation to return the territories of the country remaining outside the control of the authorities, said the head of Yemen's governing presidential council, Rashad al-Alimi.

“Based on our constitutional responsibility to protect the sovereignty of the republic and its citizens, based on the decisions of the National Defense Council and after completing the necessary procedures and measures, I today announce the beginning of military operations to return the remaining territories of the republic,” al-Alimi said in his address to the Yemeni people.

The head of the council added that all security forces had moved from the preparation stage to the “release stage” after, according to him, the possibilities for de-escalation had been exhausted.

In turn, the official representative of the armed forces of the Ansar Allah movement (Houthis), Yahya Saria, said that the Houthi forces repulsed an attempt to advance government forces in the east of Al-Jawf province. During the fighting, numerous pieces of equipment were destroyed or disabled, dozens of enemy troops were killed or wounded, and force concentrations were hit by ballistic missiles and drones, he said.

Earlier on Sunday, a Yemeni military source told RIA Novosti that the Ansar Allah movement had made significant progress in Taiz province in the southwest of the country. According to him, the Houthis have established control over a number of areas in the districts of Shammayyatein, Jebel Habashi, Al-Mawasit and Al-Maafir, while government forces retreated from a number of positions after clashes that continued since early morning.

On Saturday, the Yemeni army announced it had carried out 257 strike operations against Ansar Allah positions, movements and military facilities using aircraft, drones, artillery, missiles and MLRS in Sanaa and several provinces of the country. According to her, as a result of these attacks, about 700 supporters of the movement were killed or wounded, and 170 pieces of equipment and other military equipment were destroyed.