Battles raged in the border city of Haradh with Saudi Arabia, in northeastern Yemen, after government forces launched a lightning attack on the Houthi group last Thursday, and completely surrounded the city after advancing from the east and west.
The government forces are about to take control of the city, which has eluded them, despite the repeated military campaigns they launched since the beginning of the war in the country in 2015, as the Houthis were desperate to hold on to it and planted hundreds of mines on the way to it.
Since the start of their military operations from the Saudi border towards Hajjah Governorate, government forces have succeeded in controlling the Midi district, on the Red Sea coast, in early 2016, but they have failed to advance towards the east towards Haradh.
The city is about 10 kilometers from the Al-Tuwal border crossing, the main crossing between Yemen and Saudi Arabia, and the government forces are seeking to control and restart it, and will also control the main road linking the Midi port and areas in the north of the country, the stronghold of the Houthis.
The area separating Haradh and the Al-Twal port has been a field of violent battles between the Houthis on one side and the Saudi and Sudanese forces on the other, over the past years.
The Royal Saudi Ground Forces 🇸🇦 broke a huge advance of the Houthi militia off #Al-Malahit 🇾🇪 with TOS-1 missile launchers (Russian-made 🇷🇺) and the Saudis used thermobaric "vacuum" munitions, inflicting very heavy losses on the Houthis# Al-Yaman_Saeed Brigades #Saada # Haradh_Tatahir_min_Al-Houthi pic.twitter. com/iZjg6iwaOO
- Happy Yemen Brigade (@yharm) February 5, 2022
Planned preparation
According to a military source in the Fifth Military Region Command of the government forces, the attack was arranged for a while with the Saudi-Emirati coalition, and last Thursday night, the fighters began launching intense air strikes.
The source told Al Jazeera Net - preferring to remain anonymous as he is not authorized to speak to the media - that the battle of Haradh comes as part of a wide military operation with the aim of controlling the border strip with Saudi Arabia.
Following the raids, the forces of the Fifth Military District launched an attack from the north-east of the city towards the south, while the Haradh Axis forces launched an attack from the west, and after two days of fighting, the two forces met at the strategic Al-Muhsam camp, south of the city.
The camp is a fortified stronghold of the Houthis, but its security is contingent on controlling the Al-Husnain Mountain, which overlooks the city from the south.
tight siege
Government forces cut off the Houthi supply route, and the commander of the Fighting School in the Fifth Military District, Brigadier Adnan al-Siddiq, said that the Houthis are completely surrounded, while government forces are advancing towards the north to take full control of the city.
Al-Siddiq told Al-Jazeera Net that government forces are completely encircling Haradh, and are currently controlling its southern half, but the battles are getting fiercer with the Houthis launching violent attacks on government forces from inside the city, in addition to attacks from the south and Jabal Al-Husnain.
He said that their forces are fighting on both sides, and the Houthis are pushing large forces to break the siege, but the coalition fighters are confronting them, while the government forces are seeking to resolve the battle as soon as possible.
He added that the bushes, the thick mines and the snipers who occupied the buildings were all factors that complicated the possibility of controlling the city.
The residents of Haradh have abandoned it since the beginning of the war and it has turned into a semi-military base for the Houthis (agencies)
war city
Since the beginning of the war in Yemen, residents have left the city for displacement camps in the neighboring districts of Hiran, Midi and Abs, and the city has become more like a Houthi military base, and its buildings have been destroyed.
Al-Siddiq said that the Houthis built shelters and tunnels, while the military source said that mines and snipers had killed dozens of government forces, without giving a specific outcome.
"The Houthis are blowing up tall buildings so as not to leave behind any building that government forces might benefit from," he added.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Information announced the killing of journalist Marwan Youssef, while covering the battles in the city.
The commander of the Fifth Military Region, Major General Yahya Salah, announced that the surrendered fighters would be secured and the wounded would be treated, while mediation efforts had begun for the Houthis' surrender, and government forces had asked parents to communicate with their sons in the Houthi group on the fronts of the governorate to surrender themselves to the National Army.. Considering that days " Militia is limited.
But Al-Siddiq said that a number of the Houthis have surrendered, while a large number of them continue to fight.
The war in Yemen,
Haradh, Hajjah 6-2-2022
A map showing the development and stages of the battle of Haradh from 2-4 to today 6-2-2022, and government forces’ attempts to enter the center of Haradh from the south and west pic.twitter.com/DiHGpxXamC
- Wars of the Middle East (@abduljabbar1612) February 6, 2022
big mistake
The Houthis vowed to escalate against the coalition countries on several fronts, and the head of the Houthi-affiliated Saba News Agency, Nasr Al-Din Amer, believed that the coalition made a mistake by escalating on that front.
He told Al Jazeera Net that this undermines the talk about peace in Yemen and stopping the war in the country, which is entering its eighth year.
The UAE-backed Giants Brigades had recaptured the districts of Usaylan and Bayhan, the last two Houthi strongholds in Shabwa governorate (southeast of Yemen), and had also taken control of the Harib district and several areas south of Ma'rib governorate, east of Sanaa.
Amer minimized the gains of the other side, and said, "The enemy is not able to change the balance of power on the ground, and no longer has any new force in the battle, and whoever lost cities in 7 years will be unable to control a district or location."
He said that the city of Haradh will stand, threatening the government forces with heavy losses, and said, "Harad is steadfast and was crushed by the Sudanese and Saudis."
#Al-Yaman_Al-Saeed Brigades during the purification of #Harad.
With permission, within hours it will be completely purified..
Watch a video of some modern armored vehicles and tanks participating in the battle of liberation and the soldiers' joy at the victory.. pic.twitter.com/RwNcbveFqM
- Happy Yemen Brigade (@yharm) February 6, 2022
wholesale losses
In turn, the head of the Abaad Center for Studies (Yemeni non-governmental), Abdul Salam Muhammad, said that Hajjah governorate would be practically outside the control of the Houthis if government forces took control of the most important city of Haradh in terms of national income.
According to official figures, the Haradh port provided about $25 million in revenue to the government in 2006.
Abdul Salam told Al Jazeera Net that the Houthis will lose the recruitment of the sons of Tihama, and the fierce and powerful tribes surrounding the coastal strip, such as the tribes of Hajour al-Sham, Qafl Shammar, al-Muftah and al-Kaida, in addition to that their strongholds in Saada and Hajjah will be besieged.
He added that the exit of Haradh and Midi from the Houthis, and later, perhaps, al-Jawf, would constitute a blow to the Houthis, because containing this geography and its tribes would facilitate access to Sanaa with minimal losses.