Yemen government is winning the war, says commander

General Nasser Al-Dhaybani, commander of Yemeni National Army, said his troops are moving closer to the Houthi-controlled capital Sana’a “every day”, Sky News reported today.

The YNA seek to take back Sana’a and the strategic port city of Hudaydah “as soon as the conditions are right”, Al-Daybani said.

He described Saudi Arabia’s controversial air strikes in the country as “excellent” and “helpful” but said he didn’t want them to destroy Sana’a as “there are two million civilians there”.

A Saudi-led coalition has pounded Yemen since 2015, reportedly killing thousands of civilians across the country. In one controversial air strike by Saudi Arabia last year, a Yemeni wedding was struck killing eight women and two children.

The alliance was formed at the behest of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi who was forced out of Sana’a after the Houthis captured the city in 2014.

But despite more than three years of heavy fighting, the Houthis have maintained control over the most populated provinces including the capital Sana’a.

According to UN officials, more than 10,000 people have been killed in the war, while more than 11 per cent of the country’s population has been displaced.

Read: Clashes between Saudi forces, armed gangs in Yemen