Members of Saudi border guard on duty in the Ashiq island in the southern Jazan province near the border with Yemen on Wednesday. — AFP
RIYADH — Brig. Gen Ahmad Al-Asiri, spokesman of the coalition forces and adviser at the office of the minister of defense, said on Wednesday that the Houthis were targeting civilians and residential areas out of desperation.
He said the Houthis were the ones who targeted a dairy factory about which the media earlier reported.
“Information from the ground confirms that the factory was hit by mortar projectiles and Katyusha rockets which caused fire and casualties,” he said.
The Al-Majrash camp in Haradh was also targeted by the Houthi militias resulting in injuries to many people, Asiri said, stressing that coalition operation can never target such complexes.
Coalition forces on Wednesday targeted the rebel brigades which were moving toward Aden, Al-Dale and Shabwah, said the spokesman of the coalition forces.
“We know a majority of Yemeni army officers and privates fighting alongside the Houthis have been forced to do so by the militias and those supporting the ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh,” Asiri told reporters in a press conference.
He said that targeting these Yemeni army officers and privates is not the objective of the coalition operation, but their presence in these places has exposed them to danger.
“We appeal to these army men not to rally around the militias, but support their sincere commanders who are defending the legitimate government and the Yemeni citizens,” Asiri said.
He said the campaign will continue until it achieves its objectives. The coalition air forces continued to target locations of ballistic missiles, means of air defense, ammunition depots and the movement of the rebel militias.
The operations were intensified in the regions and roads leading to the city of Aden.
Popular committees are carrying out operations against the cells and the pockets of the militias in Aden. The Saudi ground forces are preventing the Houthis from coming near the border, he said.
Naval operations were also continuing. Warships have been deployed to carry out a naval blockade.
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Border Guard personnel in Asir Province are on full alert 24/7 to protect the southern border region against any possible attacks by Houthi rebels.
NAJRAN — No orders have been issued to villagers along the southern border region to evacuate and move to distant areas, according to Abdullah Al-Suwaid, undersecretary of the governorate here. He categorically denied reports that orders had been issued to the villagers to move further into the country’s interior for their safety and said villagers were determined to stay right where they are, in complete defiance of any war risks.
"The inhabitants of all the villages along the southern border region close to Yemen are living normally and enjoying complete security and stability," he said.
