The recent battle that erupted in Al-Baydah, in the centre of Yemen, has simmered like its counterpart in Marib. Groups and formations fighting the Houthis on the battlefront failed to garner sufficient support to hold on to recent gains by the legitimate government of Yemen, allowing the Houthis to recapture some of the areas lost by them in the past few weeks.
The experience of the military operations once again demonstrated the difficulty of a military or a violent solution in Yemen. Local tribesmen who have been ferociously fighting to gain back their villages were in despair, and the battle showed lack of cohesion, trust and will.
Fighting still continues in Al-Baydah, Marib and across several other scattered battlefronts across Yemen. Perhaps the only win of the Yemeni government has been its ability to keep control over the city of Marib, the heart of a province with the same name and home to Yemen's major energy resources.
President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi has directed the government to open an investigation into what happened in the Al-Baydah. The government was hoping to turn the tables in its fight against the Houthis by recapturing the strategic province of Al-Baydah.
The war continues to be costly with funerals held in the capital, Sana'a on a regular basis and with the humanitarian crisis persisting. The US envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, reaffirmed the existence of an unprecedented international and regional consensus to end the conflict in Yemen.
#USEnvoyYemen Lenderking extends his best wishes to Yemenis on the occasion of Eid al-Adha. pic.twitter.com/Ov7fSKKH21
— U.S. State Dept - Near Eastern Affairs (@StateDept_NEA) July 20, 2021
On a positive note, the Houthis and the Yemeni government swapped prisoners in Al-Baydah province, according to a local military spokesperson. There is no official confirmation yet on the swap that succeeded through local mediation.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Amer al-Humayqani said five Yemeni soldiers were released in exchange for 10 Houthi rebels following local mediation.
