Screen grab from a video released by the media center of the Yemeni Armed Forces.
On February 24, the 5th Military District of the pro-Saudi Yemeni Armed Forces announced that its air defenses had shot down four drones of the Houthis (Ansar Allah) over the district of Harad in the northwestern Yemeni province of Hajjah.
Forces from the 5th Military District and other Saudi-backed formations kicked off a large-scale attack on Harad early on in February. However, the Houthis showed fierce resistance. The group’s fighters were able to hold onto their positions inside the district center and in its outskirts.
Now, Saudi-backed forces in Harad are in a defensive position. The forces are only engaging the Houthis with indirect fire.
The Saudi-led coalition continues to support its proxies in Harad despite the lack of any advance on the ground. Between February 21 and 24, coalition warplanes carried out 78 airstrikes on Houthi forces in Harad. According to the coalition’s claims, the airstrikes killed scores of Houthi fighters and destroyed 36 military vehicles of the group.
Saudi-backed forces may resume their ground attack on Harad district center soon. The Houthis will not likely back down, however.
The battle of Harad highlights the incompetence of Saudi-led coalition proxies in Yemen, who lack the will and the experience to put up real fight against the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia is moving away from its Wahhabist past since 2017. I don’t know if they should be helped. Those trolls that say that the Yemeni government is supporting jihadists, let me remind them that the Yemeni government is fighting against Al Qaeda from 1998 repeatedly.
However, the best and most difficult solution for Yemen is to be free from both Iranian and Saudi influence.