Yemen Tribesmen To Train Local Youth To Fight Houthis

Tribesmen in Yemen's Hadhramaut province plan to provide local youth with military training with a view to preventing the Shiite Houthi militant group from capturing the coastal province.



Saleh al-Duweila, a spokesman for the Hadhramaut Tribal Confederacy, told The Anadolu Agency that his group planned to train 20,000 young fighters so as to establish a "force" tasked with "safeguarding Hadhramaut from aggression."



"We have divided the city into three military zones, each of which will be assigned with two army brigades," al-Duweila said.



He added that the confederacy had already begun training two "brigades."



He also said that his group was in contact with Yemen's Gulf-backed president, ABD Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, as well as a Saudi-led coalition that is waging a fierce air campaign – now in its fifth week – against Houthi positions in Yemen.



"The tribes will never allow the Houthis to take over Hadhramaut," said al-Duweila.



He went on to say that Hadhramaut's oilfields, which his coalition seized earlier this month, would "remain forever in the hands of Hadhramaut tribesmen."



Yemen has been rocked by turmoil since the Houthis overran capital Sanaa last September, from which they have since advanced on other provinces.



On March 25, Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies began an air campaign against Houthi positions across Yemen.



Riyadh says its anti-Houthi campaign is in response to appeals by Hadi for help against the Shiite group.



The Houthis, for their part, denounce the offensive as an unwarranted "Saudi-American onslaught" on Yemen.



www.aa.com.tr/en - Sana