Native mercenaries abandon Saudi coalition, join Ansarallah

Native Yemeni mercenaries, including officers and sheiks, have abandoned the Saudi Coalition and returned to their homes after being offered general amnesty by the Ansarallah-allied Yemeni army.

These were the remarks of MintPress correspondent in Sana’a Ahmed Abdul-Kareem, in his report, titled: “Yemen Continues Military Progress as Native Mercenaries Abandon Saudi Coalition”.

Throughout war-ravaged Yemen, drivers are queuing up for hours hoping to get a can of fuel from overcrowded petrol stations. The fuel shortage comes as the Saudi-led Coalition and its allied mercenaries in Aden are preventing tankers laden with oil from entering Hodeida port, Yemen’s largest entry point. Nine tankers have been prevented from docking so far, worsening an incredibly dire situation, described by the UN as the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi-led Coalition has also prevented the central bank of Yemen in the southern port of Aden from supplying banks with foreign currency, blocking the flow of much-needed goods into the country. Yemen’s central bank has effectively been divided in two, with a Saudi-backed branch operating out of Aden working against the other branch based in Sana`a. This has led to currency shortages and inability to pay government workers in areas of Yemen not controlled by the Coalition.

Yemeni military forces loyal to the national government led by the popular Ansarallah Movement, have responded to the Coalition’s economic warfare against the country by waging a fierce military campaign in Yemen’s southern regions, where the aggressors’ economic stranglehold is most acute.

Recently, a Yemeni military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that a domestically-designed and manufactured Qasef K2 (Striker K2) combat drone targeted the headquarters of the Coalition in the city of Burayqah in Aden, killing and injuring mercenary forces loyal to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In the ad-Dali province, a fierce campaign by Yemeni military forces loyal to the Ansarallah has seen significant success since it began two weeks ago. And in the past weeks, the Yemeni military has captured dozens of cities, villages, and military sites in the country’s southern al-Bayda and ad-Dali provinces from al-Qaeda, Daesh, and Saudi Coalition fighters.

According to Yemeni military experts, the recent gains are a clear sign of a changing balance of power in favor of the Ansarallah.

Ansarallah-allied fighters supported by local tribes also launched a campaign to retake the al-Hasha district of Southern Yemen’s Dhalea Province. The al-Hasha operation was performed in three separate campaigns all converging in the center of the directorate. In total, the three campaigns succeeded in taking over 124 military sites from Saudi Coalition forces in less than 48 hours.

The spokesman of the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, declared al-Hasha liberated on Wednesday. Saree promised that Yemen’s army would continue to advance in the country’s south as long as the unjust economic war continues, pointing out the keenness of the leadership to restore security and stability and normalize the situation in the liberated areas.

On the Yemeni-Saudi border, fierce fighting continues as Ansarallah fighters advance into Saudi Arabia. Dozens of Sudanese mercenaries were reportedly killed when Yemen military forces loyal to the Ansarallah attacked and captured a Saudi military site east of ad-Dud Mountain in the Jizan region.

Later in the day, the Yemeni army captured Saudi military sites in the an-Nar mountain region and Jafan district in Jizan, Saudi Arabia. Three Saudi military sites were also captured in border region of Najran, which the Saudis had occupied with British help in 1934.

Native mercenaries deserting the Saudi-led coalition are being offered amnesty by the Ansarallah-led government.

Infuriated by the Coalition’s policy of starvation, native Yemeni mercenaries, including officers and sheikhs, have abandoned the Coalition and returned to their homes after being offered general amnesty by the Ansarallah-allied Yemeni army.

Meanwhile, major reconciliation efforts are taking place between the Ansarallah and the local mercenaries as hundreds of prisoners captured on the battlefield fighting alongside coalition forces have been released.

The al-Hesn (Castle) tribe, which calls the Directorate of Khawlan its home and is among the largest of Yemen’s tribes, received dozens of free prisoners recently, including Colonel Ali Nasser Hajar, commander of the 3rd battalion, who fought alongside Coalition forces for four years.

Colonel Hajar told local residents as they celebrated his return: “We finally realized the enormity of the mistake we made when we joined the Saudi Coalition, which kills and starves our people.”

Ansarallah welcomed the returnees, saying that the homeland is large enough for all Yemenis.

Mohammed Abdus-Salaam, a spokesman for Ansarallah, said: “We welcome the return to the homeland of individuals, soldiers, officers, leaders, and social, scientific and tribal figures. The homeland will accommodate all its people. Yemen`s renaissance will advance only by partnership and building a modern and just country and facing the threats that target everyone.”

AS/SS