Yemen army frees most of Naham area from Houthis

The Yemeni army and pro-government Yemeni National Resistance forces on Wednesday liberated most of the districts in mountainous region of Naham, north-east of Sanaa, from the Houthi militia and forces loyal to president Ali Abdullah Saleh, a senior security official has said.

The army is chasing remnants of the Houthi-Saleh militants, the state Yemeni news agency quoted the chief of security of Sanaa governorate as saying.

He said that the rebels destroyed the bridges along the road to Furdat Naham in a bid to stop the advance of pro-government army and Resistance fighters.

Tens of rebels were killed, injured and captured and their military equipment were destroyed in the battles, the official added.

Earlier, the Yemeni army and Resistance fighters regained control of a number of military posts in Naham after defeating the Houthi militants and advanced closer to the strategic Furdat Naham military base.

Meanwhile, President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has promised that the Yemeni forces will not stop military offensives until the capital Sanaa is liberated from the rebels.

The Yemeni president was speaking over the phone with the governor of Sanaa, Abdul Qawi Sharif, about the developments in the governorate.

Hadi praised the "unprecedented courage" of the national army and Resistance fighters and stressed that "the republican regime will win, no matter how big our sacrifices may be, and defeat the remnants of the backward clerical imamate regime that came out of the caves of history."

"The battle for Yemen is a crucial one and there will be no retreat," Hadi said. He added that defeating the Houthi militia and forces loyal to Saleh in many parts of Sanaa governorate is the most crucial step .