Houthis Defeated at Dalea, Saudi Bombing Continues

In the first setback since the civil war began in earnest two months ago, the Iran backed Houthis have been defeated at the southern city of Dalea, currently held by Sunni militias. Houthi militants have been fighting local Sunni forces at Dalea since the conflict ignited, and until recently the battle was at a stalemate. However, as of yesterday, Sunni militias seized Dalea’s military base and chief security directorate after half a day of intense combat. Twelve Sunni militiamen and forty Houthi fighters were reported killed in the battle. Reports also state that the Saudi-led coalition had been sending considerable aid to the Sunni fighters on the ground with frequent air drops of supplies to Dalea along with a several-week long airstrike campaign on local Houthi positions.

The long running Saudi led air campaign may have encountered another problem, two weeks after a Moroccan F-16 was shot down by Houthis over Yemen. Houthi militants claim to have downed another fighter jet, this one a Saudi F-15. Several pictures of the purported wreckage and missiles were posted on the Yemen Post’s Twitter account. Both the Saudi Air Force and Yemeni Embassy spokesman Mohammed Albasha deny that any Saudi aircraft was shot down, stating that the images shows only an abandoned fuel tank and dud missiles.

Regardless, the Saudi air strike campaign against Houthi positions in Sana’a and along the Saudi-Yemen border continue apace. Wednesday’s airstrikes have killed 80 people, the deadliest single day of bombing in the war so far. Although the airstrikes on the border were intended to kill Houthi militants firing on Saudi troops across the border, the Houthis were able to retreat into residential areas, causing the majority of casualties to be civilians.

The airstrikes on Sana’a were targeted at a military base used by Yemeni special forces units loyal to former President Saleh and allied with the Houthis as well as a warehouse used by the Houthis to store weaponry. The Saudi coalition also besieged Yemen’s chief military port at Hodeida by sea and air, sinking at least one Yemeni warship and destroying much of the naval base. In the wake of the escalating violence, the UN has decided to postpone negotiations previously set for May 28th.