Report: Saudi dismisses commander over Houthi attack in the kingdom

Sources have disclosed to the Houthi-aligned Northern Border Fronts news centre that the Saudis have dismissed Brigadier General Musa Bin Dhaher Al-Balawi, commander of joint operations in the Najran region, after the Houthis completed two military attacks on the region in recent months.

The Yemeni Press Agency reported Al-Balawi was dismissed due to the “fiasco and the crushing defeat” suffered by the Saudi forces – which include mercenaries – at the hands of the Houthi operation, dubbed “Victory from God” which took place over the past couple of months between Najran and Yemen’s Jabarra Valley in the Houthi controlled province of Saada, resulting in heavy losses and “thousands” of captured troops, munitions and territory, based on Houthi accounts of the events, which had been disputed by the Saudis.

#Yemen#Saudi regime dismissed Brigadier General Musa bin Dhaher al-Balawi, commander of joint Forces in the Najran-Sada'a axis due to the fiasco and the crushing defeat suffered by the Saudi army and its mercenaries in Jabarra front. pic.twitter.com/vv9ZPJIrY4

— Eastern Lion东方雄狮 (@Sunkway_China) October 11, 2019

The unverified sources added that there are other changes expected to be announced in the coming days.

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Al-Balawi was directly responsible for all the mercenary brigades, which included Yemeni fighters stationed within the borders of the southern Saudi province which shares a border with Yemen in addition to leading a Saudi offensive in the Jabarra Valley.

Najran was historically part of Yemen before being annexed by Saudi Arabia following the Saudi-Yemeni war of 1934. Although still claimed by many Yemenis, the issue was said to have been settled as part of the Saudi-Yemeni border agreement of 2000. Houthi incursions, skirmishes and aerial attacks in Saudi territory have increased in recent years since Saudi commenced its coalition air strikes in 2015.

READ: Najran could well be Saudi Arabia’s fault line as much as its front line