Saudi forces foil another Houthi attack near Jazan

JEDDAH: The Yemeni government on Wednesday reiterated it did not receive any peace plan from the United Nations’ Yemen envoy or any other party. 

It stressed it will reject any settlement that is not based on "UN Resolution 2216 and the GCC initiative, and if it does not take into consideration the outcome of the national dialogue,” Yemeni government spokesperson Rajeh Badi told Arab News on Wednesday.

The UN envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed handed an outline for a peace plan to Houthi rebels in control of the capital, which includes divesting President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, their rival, of his authority and stipulates the withdrawal of militias from major cities, a Houthi-affiliated politician told AP.

According to a politician who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, the peace plan also includes transferring the powers of the internationally recognized president to a new prime minister and a vice president. 

It proposes a one- to two-year transitional period paving the way for presidential elections.

The Yemeni government convened on Wednesday and discussed the recent political and military developments in the country.

During the meeting, Hadi stressed that he was keen to “save the Yemeni people



and put an end to the dominance of the Houthi rebels who have no regard for the lives of Yemeni civilians whom they are killing indiscriminately.”

He also condemned the continuous Houthi aggression against Saudi border cities.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Saudi Border Guard and artillery troops repelled a Houthi offensive off Al-Khubah in Jazan. Saudi artillery shelled the rebels' sites, killing 20 Houthi and Republican Guards members.

Fierce clashes between the Yemeni Army and the militias are raging in Sanaa's Nihm area, with the Saudi-led coalition aircraft providing intensified air support to the army forces, pounding the rebels' sites in the western and northwestern mountainous heights of Nihm.

The artillery also struck Houthi fortifications near the clashes area; the Yemeni Army is advancing in Al-Houl district as breakdowns are witnessed within the militias' ranks. 

In Hifan, south of Taiz, fighting erupted between the national army and its allied resistance militants and the Houthi militias, and the Arab coalition fighter planes pounded Houthi targets near a health care center, killing and injuring a number of militants.

Clashes occurred in Serwah, west of Maarib province, after the coalition's air defense intercepted six ballistic missile attacks that were targeting Maarib city.

Observers say the ballistic missile attacks on Maarib were the most violent since legitimate forces of Yemen took control of the city.