Yemen loyalists battle rebels for key airbase

By
AFP
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Yemen loyalists battle rebels for key airbase
ADEN: Loyalist forces began a major offensive Monday aimed at retaking Yemen´s largest airbase which is held by rebels, as troops from the Saudi-led coalition entered recaptured second city Aden.

The pro-government troops deployed heavy armour supplied by their backers in the assault on Al-Anad base, some 60 kilometres (35 miles) north of Aden, military sources said.

"The battle to retake Al-Anad base has begun," a military source told AFP.
Hundreds of troops and militia equipped with tanks and armoured vehicles supplied by the coalition deployed around the base before Monday´s attack, their commander Fadhl Hassan said.

Another source said Saudi-led warplanes were providing air cover for the loyalist forces, who launched the offensive from a mountainous region west of the base.

Al-Anad, in southern Lahj province, housed US troops overseeing a drone war against Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula until shortly before Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels overran it in March.

An officer taking part in the offensive told AFP the troops had reached the western entrance of Al-Anad by mid-afternoon on Monday.

But an attempt to break into the base from the south failed and loyalist forces met "stiff resistance" from the rebels, added the officer who asked not to be named.

Fierce fighting was under way outside the base and "several" people were killed on both sides, he said.

Another officer said that coalition warplanes helped loyalists on the ground by launching new raids, destroying two rebel tanks and four vehicles and killing those inside, he said.

Retaking Al-Anad would help bolster security in Aden, whose liberation the government of exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi announced in mid-July.

It would also open the way to loyalist forces to push further north against the Huthis, who have enjoyed strong support on the ground from fighters close to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.