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ADEN, Yemen, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces took full control of a key military base along the Red Sea coast in Taiz province on Monday after four days of fierce battles, an army commander told Xinhua.
"The army units supported by the Saudi-led Arab coalition managed to recapture Omari military base and kicked pro-Houthi forces out from the surrounding areas following fierce fighting and airstrikes," the local army commander said on condition of anonymity.
The pro-government forces will continue tracking the Shiite Houthi militants along the western coastal regions near the strategic Bab al-Mandeb strait, the commander said.
Meanwhile, helicopters and warships of the Saudi-led military coalition heavily bombed positions held by Iranian-backed Houthis in and around the Mocha seaport, according to an intelligence officer of the Aden-based Fourth Regional Military Command.
"The army forces air-covered by warplanes are still advancing towards the next target Mocha. Many Houthi gunmen were killed and scores others arrested in today's fighting," the source said on condition of anonymity.
Hundreds of newly-trained Yemeni army soldiers, supported by the troops of the United Arab Emirates, moved Monday from Aden province to secure the coastline stretching from Dhubab, Mocha to Bab al-Mandeb strait against the pro-Houthi forces.
The fierce battles that started on Friday night have left about 71 Houthi gunmen and 35 pro-government soldiers killed, according to medical officials.
The situation in Yemen has deteriorated economically and politically since March 2015, when a war broke out between the Shiite Houthi group, supported by former President Ali Abdullash Saleh, and the government backed by a Saudi-led Arab coalition.
Houthis and Saleh's forces hold most of Yemen's northern regions while government forces and the Saudi-led military coalition share control of the rest of the country including seven southern provinces.
The civil war has ao far killed more than 10,000 people, half of them civilians, injured over 35,000 others and displaced about two million, according to humanitarian agencies.
