Military aid is coming to Saudi Arabia, plague concerns in Siberia – daily digest
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Military aid is coming to Saudi Arabia, plague concerns in Siberia – daily digest
Yemeni government forces, backed by Saudi Arabia, launched an offensive on Monday to retake areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Yemeni forces, supported by heavy Saudi airstrikes, entered the outskirts of Mokha late Monday, while Iran-backed Houthi fighters are retreating into mountainous areas. The Yemeni Ministry of Defense announced that the city had been captured.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis also announced on Monday that it had conducted a military operation in the Hodeidah governorate.
If this achievement is confirmed, the Houthis' control over the crucial Red Sea oil route will be weakened. However, the scale of the successes achieved by the Yemeni government has not yet been confirmed.
The Houthis, meanwhile, called the claims of the Saudi-backed government groundless. According to Reuters sources, the Houthis themselves have made significant gains near the third-largest city, Taiz. They have seized parts of the mountain road, leaving Yemeni government forces under siege. The group also threatened to attack flights in Saudi Arabian airspace.
The war continues intensely on several fronts, with the fiercest fighting taking place in the southwest, in the coastal area near the strait, and on the hills around Taiz.
The escalation of the conflict has prompted members of the Mecca Pact into action. At an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan agreed to immediately deploy military forces and capabilities to the kingdom.
Riyadh, Ankara, and Islamabad accused the Houthis of attempting to target Islam's holiest sites — Mecca and Medina.
It has not been disclosed what specific measures will be taken by the parties, which have commitments similar to NATO's collective defense agreement. According to the joint statement, these commitments will be implemented within "approved procedures" and in accordance with the laws of each country.
A few days ago, a laboratory technician at a research institute in Siberia died after contracting an illness under undisclosed circumstances. Following this, the government quarantined hundreds of people.