Yemeni rebels 'planting mines' as they retreat
Publisher | IRIN |
Publication Date | 19 August 2015 |
Cite as | IRIN, Yemeni rebels 'planting mines' as they retreat, 19 August 2015, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/55dd79214.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
In the past few weeks, the momentum in Yemen's civil war has shifted radically. The northern Houthi rebels, who had gained control of the capital Sana'a and had extended their reach all the way to Aden, have suddenly been put on the back foot. They have retreated north from Aden and now look set to lose the central city of Taiz.
Forces loyal to exiled President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi, as well as southern rebels loosely aligned with him, have benefited from the arrival of troops and supplies from the Saudi Arabian-led coalition of nations supporting Hadi.
As the Houthi fighters, along with renegade military units loyal to Yemen's former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, have retreated, they are accused of leaving a deadly trail of mines, improvised explosive devices and booby traps in their wake.