Houthi Land Mine Explosion Kills Two Yemeni Children in Al Bayda

A Yemeni government soldier stands on a truck transporting land mines left by the Houthi rebels in al-Jadaan area, in the country's central province of Marib, December 21, 2015. (Reuters)

As a series of battlefield losses left Houthi militants desperate to reinstate depleted fighter morale on south Yemen’s Ad Dali front and even in the northern Sadah province, where the insurgency is headquartered.

In parallel, land mines left behind by Houthi militants continued to kill innocent civilians, with the latest victims killed being two young children in the Zaher district in the central Al Bayda governorate.

According to locals, crimes committed by coupists targeted various areas of Al Bayda. Houthis shelled residential villages incessantly and planted mines indiscriminately throughout civilian infrastructure.

The two children killed by a Houthi mins explosion were Abdullah Al-Hayqani and Abdul Qader Al-Hmeikani, who were both 13 years old.

Houthi militia formations in Al Bayda incurred the loss of 10 fighters—a single account in a long string of losses militants have suffered. This has propagated fear and anxiety within Houthi commandership, eventually forcing it to order a security crackdown in areas controlled by the insurgency.

Meanwhile, Yemeni army units, backed by Arab Coalition air forces, logged substantial advances in Taiz. The progress has allowed lifting the siege off the southern province which was overrun by Houthi fighters some four years ago.

In view of the exceptional push, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik Saeed commended the hard efforts put in by pro-government popular forces, the Arab Coalition, and the Yemeni national army.

Abdulmalik, according to the state-owned Saba news agency, voiced his strong belief that the remaining Taiz towns held captive by Houthi militants will soon be liberated.

“Taiz was and will remain at the forefront of fighting against the abhorrent Imamate priesthood project,” he said in reference to Houthis enacting an Iranian agenda in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.

The prime minister reiterated “the government’s full support to the national army, popular resistance, and local authorities when looking to bolster the country’s security and stability through liberating Taiz.”