Houthis claim 32 operations against Saudi warplanes, down nine aircraft since September 3

TUNIS, September 11. /TASS/. The Houthis from the Yemeni rebel movement Ansar Allah say they have conducted more than 30 operations to intercept Saudi warplanes and have downed nine aircraft since September 3.

"The armed forces successfully conducted 32 operations to intercept Saudi warplanes, having shot down nine of them," Houthi spokesman Yahya Saria said, adding that hundreds of Saudi soldiers "have been killed, wounded or taken prisoner" in the course of the operation on Yemen’s western coast.

According to the Houthi spokesman, the operation on the Yemeni western coast was launched on September 3 and was geared to push Saudi forces out of the area. In his words, it was prompted by "Saudi-backed attacks on people and villages on the western coast that have been continuing for years."

The operation resulted in the Saudi forces being squeezed out of the Taiz and Hodeida governorates, from an area of 5,400 square kilometers, Saria stated, adding that navigation in the Red Sea "is safe for all companies, except those from Saudi Arabia as the regime of blockade is in place against them."

The armed confrontation between the Saudi-backed government forces and Houthi rebels has been continuing in Yemen since August 2014. The situation deteriorated dramatically this summer. The Houthi rebels delivered a massive missile strike on the Red Sea port of Mokha on August 14, resulting in the port’s complete halt. In early September, the Houthis launched an offensive in the southwest of the country. Along with ground operations, the Houthis began delivering missile and drones strikes on the Red Sea coastal areas and the vicinity of the city of Taiz, seeking to cut off approaches to Mokha and advance toward areas adjacent to the strategically important Bab al-Mandeb Strait.