Lahij insurgency

Part of a series on the Yemeni Crisis (2011–present)
Main topics Yemeni Revolution Yemeni presidential election, 2012 Houthi insurgency in Yemen al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen South Yemen insurgency 2014–15 Yemeni coup d'état Aftermath of the 2014–15 coup d'état Yemeni Civil War (2015)
Background History of Yemen Yemeni unification

The Lahij insurgency is an ongoing guerrilla war waged by tribesmen loyal to Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi against the Houthis and Yemen Army units loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh who control most of the Lahij Governorate of Yemen.

Background

On 24 March, heavy fighting erupted in the Lahij Governorate as Houthi forces advanced.^[6]

On the morning of 25 March, the Houthis seized Al Anad Air Base, which had recently been abandoned by United States of America US SOCOM troops.^[7][8] Soon after the Houthis also captured Al Houta, where they took the Defence Minister Mahmoud al-Subaihi, one of Hadi's top lieutenants, as a prisoner and transferred him to Sana'a. In addition, the Houthi-allied 33rd Armored Brigade captured the towns of Al-Habilain and Al-Malah. With this, the Houthis had gained control of Lahij province.^[9][10]

Insurgency

On 27 March, 15–20 Houthi fighters were killed in an ambush in the Wahat region.^[11][12] Two days later, a landmine explosion killed another 25 Houthi fighters, while they were heading to Aden to reinforce their troops fighting for the city.^[13]

On 6 April, Saudi-led coalition air-strikes hit the Al Anad Air Base and a military camp killing 10 fighters,^[14] while on 8 April, eight Houthis were killed in an ambush by tribal fighters in the Karsh region.^[15]

On 11 April, 18 Houthi fighters were killed in an ambush while heading to Aden.^[16] Two days later, a suspected Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) bombing left 15 pro-Houthi soldiers dead in Al Houta.^[17]

On 13 April, anti-Houthi fighters claimed to have killed 15 in an attack on a Houthi tank using machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades in Al Houta.^[18]

References