Pro-Hadi forces break Houthi ‘siege’ on Yemen’s Taiz

By Zakaria al-Kamali

TAIZ, Yemen

Forces loyal to Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansur Hadi say they have partially broken a months-long ‘siege’ by the Shia Houthi militant group on the southwestern city of Taiz.

"The siege of Taiz has been broken from the city’s southwest by the national army… along with popular resistance forces," the city’s pro-Hadi military council tweeted late Friday.

Taiz’s strategically important southwestern entrance -- which links it to the southern Lahij and Aden provinces -- had been one of three main city entrances held by the Houthis and allied forces loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

The southwestern entrance was reportedly secured Friday by pro-Hadi forces following three days of fierce fighting with the Houthis and their allies.

Earlier Friday, pro-Hadi forces claimed to have scored other victories west of Taiz, where they said they had retaken several Houthi-held positions.

On Friday evening, Houthi militiamen reportedly staged several attacks on the eastern side of Taiz -- where local witnesses reported hearing violent explosions -- in hopes of offsetting losses sustained to the west of the city.