A Yemeni fighter stands on the road leading to Khaled Ibn Al-Walid base, 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of the government-held Red Sea port town of Mokha.

:: Yemeni army’s chief of staff said on Wednesday that victory over Houthi and Saleh militias is “is closer than ever”.

Maj. Gen. Taher Ali al-Auqaili, who was appointed by Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi as the army’s chief of staff earlier this month, made the declaration while addressing a major military parade held in Marib to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the 26th September Revolution.

Auqaili also extended a message of appreciation toward the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Alliance “who responded to the appeal of Yemenis in brotherly harmony as a great historic turning point in the march of Arab alignment”.

The chief of staff pointed out that the Houthi militias and fighters loyal to former ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh have established themselves as tools Iran’s expansion project for region influence.

“The crimes of the coup plotters have gone beyond spreading ruin, chaos and killing to deny the human values and turn Yemen into a playground for Iran and its expansionist ambitions at the expense of the identity and interests of the Yemeni people,” Auqaili said.

Maj. Gen. Taher Ali al-Auqaili was appointed by Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi as the army’s chief of staff earlier this month.