British Newspaper affirms failure of Saudi military campaign to seize control of Bab al-Mandab

LONDON, Oct. 10 (YPA) – International media reports have questioned Saudi military claims on Yemen’s western coast following more than a week of military escalation aimed at advancing toward strategic positions.

The British newspaper The Times quoted sources close to the matter as saying that Sanaa forces had maintained full control of their positions and military fortifications in Bab al-Mandab and the surrounding area of the strategic strait, thwarting dozens of intensive Saudi airstrikes.

According to the report, these British accounts contradicted Saudi media claims of ground advances in the area, which it said had been repeated for the seventh consecutive time.

In a previous statement, Sanaa forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree also claimed that the forces had repelled a suicide infiltration attempt by Saudi-backed factions and recruits on the southern outskirts of Bab al-Mandab, inflicting heavy losses.

The report added that Saudi attempts to advance through the coastal outskirts of Lahj governorate, overlooking the Gulf of Aden, had failed despite extensive air support involving nearly 100 fighter jets, according to remarks by Saudi spokesman Turki al-Maliki.

It described the outcome as evidence that the Saudi-backed forces had been unable to breach the security zone held by Sanaa forces, which the report put at more than 6,000 square kilometers. The area, it said, was cleared during extensive military operations in September and stretches from Al-Khokha, south of Hodeidah, to Ras al-Arah at the far southern end of Yemen’s western coast.

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