RIYADH – The Arab Coalition forces still has superiority in the battlefield within Yemen and on its border with Saudi Arabia, according to Col. Turki Al-Malki, spokesman of the coalition. Addressing the weekly press conference at the headquarters of King Salman Air Base in Riyadh, he said the legitimate government in Yemen enjoys superiority at the grass roots and political levels.
Al-Malki said that Houthi militias failed to launch a ballistic missile targeting Saudi Arabia last Friday. A total of 86 missiles have been launched at Saudi Arabia by the Houthis since the beginning of the Yemeni crisis. The spokesman said the Houthis continue to recruit children and putting them on the frontlines, which should be considered as a grave breach in human rights.
He also criticized the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen Jamie McGoldrick’s recent report saying that it lacks information, adding that McGoldrick “needs to focus on his work.”
Al-Malki made a video presentation in which he reviewed the efforts of the Coalition forces to support humanitarian and relief work in Yemen as well as the military operations carried out by the forces against targets of the Houthi militia. Al-Malki said that coalition raids continue to target militia checkpoints and weapon warehouses, adding that the raids succeeded in destroying locations where Houthi ballistic missiles are being kept in Sana’a.
He showed pictures of caves and hiding spots of Houthi weapons and missiles. “The militia is planting mines in commercial naval passages, but have failed to plant them on Saudi Arabian borders,” he added.
Al-Malki said that the permits granted to aid agencies and ships since the beginning of the military operations reached 17,293, including 2,749 permits through sea ports and 7,590 permits for humanitarian and relief assistance coming to Yemen through the airports.
The military barracks that were lost by the militia and now under the control of the legitimate government account for 444 sites and camps with weapons and military equipment. — SG/SPA
