Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir

Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir
Part of the spillover of the Yemeni Civil War (2015-present)
Date 2 April 2015[1] – present (1 year, 7 months, 1 week and 3 days) Location Southern Saudi Arabia (Najran, Asir, Jizan) Result Ongoing Houthis and allies take control of a strip of Saudi territory on the border, ranging from Ghawiyah (Jizan) in the west to Al-Shurafa (Najran) in the east.
Belligerents
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian National Guard Royal Saudi Land Force Salafist mercenaries[2]  Qatar Qatar Armed Forces	Yemen (Revolutionary Committee/Supreme Political Council) Houthis Republican Guard Ahrar al-Najran (since June 2015)
Commanders and leaders
Gen. Awad bin Eid Al-Balawi (Director General of Saudi Border Guard) Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman bin Saad al-Shahrani † (Commander of 18th Brigade)[3]	Abdul-Malik Badreddin al-Houthi Abu Bakr Abu Ahmed as-Salami Brig. Gen. Hasan Abdullah Almalsi † (Commander of Houthi special forces)[4] Abdullah Qayed al-Fadeea † (Houthi frontline deputy general supervisor)[5]
Casualties and losses
~400 Saudi soldiers and border guards killed[6] 20 tanks damaged[7] 3 Qatari soldiers killed[8]	500 killed (Saudi claim)[9]
400 Saudi civilians killed[6]
Location of Najran in relation to Yemen.

The Conflict in Najran, Jizan and Asir is an armed conflict between troops of Saudi Arabia and Houthi insurgents in the border between both countries, at the southern edge of the regions of Najran, Jizan, and Asir. The conflict began in response to the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

History

2015

On 5 May 2015, after shelling by Houthis of neighborhood of the city of Najran, the authority of the country temporarily closed local educational institutions and the airport.^[10]

On 9 July 2015, clashes in the city of Najran killed two members of Ahrar al-Najran. Ahrar al-Najran fighters also seized a number of weapons and electronic equipment of Saudi Arabia's security services and destroying an armed vehicle and a mortar-launching vehicle of the Saudi Army. 15 Saudi soldiers were also killed when the movement launched a heavy attack against a military base in Najran.^[11]

2016

On 31 January, Yemeni forces allied with the Houthis fired 70 missiles and mortar shells at Al-Qawiya and Jbal al-Dokhan military bases in Jizan province, killing over 10 Saudi troops.^[12]

On 20 June, fighters of the Ahrar Najran movement reportedly seized Lookout Outpost in the south of the Kingdom.^[13] On 25 July, Saudi interior sources informed of the death of five Border Guards who were slain by hostile forces.^[14]

On 11 August 2016, after a 1-year border ceasefire, clashes began and Houthis gained entrance to the west side of Najran, Najran.^[15]

On 16 August, Houthi shelling killed seven civilians including 4 Saudis and 3 foreigners in an industrial zone in Najran.^[16] Two days later Houthi fighters advanced 15 km deep into Najran according to a source close to them.^[17]

On 21 August, Houthis fired a Tochka ballistic missile at a Saudi encampment in Najran which killed at least 50 Saudi soldiers.^[18]

On 26 August, a power station near the border was hit in a Houthi rocket attack^[19]

On 28 August, Saudi officials say a rocket fired from Yemen hit a family's home in Saudi Arabia, killing two children and wounding five other people.^[20]

On 30 August, media close to the Houthi forces published a video showing clashes in the Asir region, with images of dead KSA soldiers and claiming dozens of Saudi Arabian casualties.^[21]

On 4 September, a woman was killed and 2 people were injured after shelling across the border from Yemen. 3 children were also killed.^[22]

Houthi forces captured three villages in Al-Khabuah area on 6 September 2016, according to a source close to them inside the Saudi region of Jizan.^[23] On 12 September the Saudi Defense Ministry acknowledged that 3 Saudi Royal Land Force soldies died and 2 were wounded by a Houthi Mortar Shell attack at a border position in Najran, while also claiming over 500 Houthi casualties since the Operation began at the Najran sector.^[9]

On 13 September, Qatar confirmed on the night of the previous day that three of their soldiers were killed by Houthi fighters in Najran.^[24]

In mid-September, Houthi forces, backed by the Yemeni Republican Guard, have reached the last village at Najran's southern perimeter. Houthi forces and their allies are reported to be attacking the village of Nahuqa, where they are engaged in a fierce battle with the Saudi Royal Army and Hadi loyalists.^[25]

On 24 September, Major-General Hassan Almalsi, head of Houthi special forces, was killed while attempting to infiltrate a squad of Houthi fighters into the kingdom's southern province of Najran.^[26]

On 4 October, Houthi forces managed to destroy three Saudi Abrams M1A2 tanks in the Najran region.^[27]

On 9 October, at least 25 Saudi soldiers have killed in a raid by Houthi and its allies near the town of Jizan.

On 12 October, Salafist fighters, including ultra-conservative Salafist leader Bassam al-Mehbar backed by air support from the Saudi-coalition took control of Al Buqa border crossing in Saada province, Yemen.^[28] It is the second time that Saudi-backed government forces have tried to open up a new front against Houthis in the north by crossing from Saudi Arabia.

On 13 October, A Saudi spy drone was shot down by Houthi militias over Al-Qawiya military base in Jizan province. Meanwhile, a Saudi military vehicle came under fire from Houthi forces, while a Saudi soldier was killed by Houthi militia snipers in the Al-Rabiah area of Jizan.^[29]

On 30 October, Houthi forces ambushed the Saudi Army convoy near Al-Biqa' Desert on the near the Yemeni-Saudi border after observing the latter's movements for several hours, killing scores of Saudi Army soldiers.^[30]

On 1 November, Houthi militias claim to have shot down a drone flying over the Ailab area in Asir province with an anti-aircraft missile, which is the fourth time in two months that the Houthis have shot down a Saudi aircraft.^[31]

On 8 November, five Saudis were injured and three vehicles were damaged by a projectile fired from Yemen into the southwestern city of Jizan, according to the Saudi Civil Defense.^[32]

On 10 November, Houthis claim to have taken control of the villages of Al-Kars and Al-Dafiniya, along with other villages in east of Al-Bahtit and south of Al-Qarn. Sources also said that Houthi militiamen had captured a bridge linking Jizan's Qaem Zubaid and Al-Ibadiya areas and the road to the nearby Al-Khubah area. The sources also said that scores of Saudi soldiers were killed and injured and six Saudi armored vehicles and two combat tanks destroyed. Saudi army helicopters had bombarded the Al-Khubah area in response. However, the claim cannot be independently verified by Saudi authorities. Also earlier on that day, Saudi authorities said at least 14 people had been injured in Eastern Province by projectiles fired from Yemen.^[33]

On 15 November, the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces intercepted and destroyed the missile targeting Najran "without any damage", Saudi Press Agency reported.^[34]

On 19 November, a Saudi soldier was killed by a missile fired by the Houthis across the border into Asir province, the Saudi interior ministry said.^[35] The incident occurred hours before a 48 hours Saudi-imposed ceasefire began.

On 22 November, one person was killed and seven others injured when projectiles fired from Yemeni territories hit a shopping center in Najran, according to the official spokesman of the Civil Defense Directorate.^[36]

On 26 November, Houthi fighters said late on Saturday that they fired a ballistic missile deep into Saudi border city of Khamis Mushait in Asir region, targeting Allamuza military base. Houthis said the missile fire came in retaliatory response to the Saudi-led continuing air strikes on Yemeni cities. However, the Saudi-owned Alarabiya satellite TV reported that the Saudi defense forces intercepted and destroyed the missile in the air before it reached the city.^[37]

References