Specialized Yemeni force marches 200km to refine combat readiness

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Yemeni Armed Forces - Military Media
24 Feb 2024 19:17
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Yemen marks its unwavering support for Palestine with its forces marching from the capital Sanaa to the coastal city of Hodeidah in 6 days.

Elite members of a "symbolic" unit partake in a 200 km-long march, executed in order to reaffirm Sanaa's support for Palestine, on a road linking Sanaa to Hodeidah in Yemen. (Yemeni Armed Forces/Military Media)

A specialized "symbolic" unit of the Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) undertook a march on foot, covering the distance from the capital, Sanaa, to the coastal province of Hodeidah along the Red Sea in western Yemen.

The participants covered a distance of 200 km dubbed "The Promised Victory and Holy Jihad," derived from Sanaa's religious and moral obligations of confronting what it has dubbed the "triad of evil," comprising the United States, the United Kingdom, and "Israel".

Sanaa's military command has ordered several such marches and drills aiming to raise its forces' combat readiness and refine their capabilities, as the YAF launch a large-scale campaign in support of the Palestinian people and their Resistance. Among these events were drills designated for anti-armor units, commando units, and popular mobilization forces.

This most recent march lasted for six consecutive days, as members of the special force relentlessly marched toward their final destination while carrying a load of 35kg each.

Members of the force affirmed that they are ready to undertake and execute the directives of the Ansar Allah leadership, headed by Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, as well as the orders of the Sanaa's Supreme Political Council.

Dozens of members of the Yemeni Armed Forces pose for a commemorative photo at the "Military Parade Stage" in Hodeidah, Yemen, on February 24, 2024. (Yemeni Armed Forces/Military media)

The event comes in parallel to a US-UK-launched aggression on Yemen, under the pretext of ensuring the safety of international maritime trade routes. However, the aggression produced the opposite effects and has instead led to the two Western powers' militarization of the waterway.

Several strikes launched on Yemen's territories led the Yemeni Armed Forces' Navy to take retaliatory measures and target US and UK naval assets, as well as US or UK-affiliated merchant vessels. Originally the YAF had promised to only target Israeli ships or ships heading to Israeli-occupied ports in Palestine, in response to the occupation's ongoing aggression on the Gaza Strip.

The YAF's most notable set of operations occurred between February 18 and 19, in which the YAF's Navy and Air Defense forces targeted a total of three merchant ships in the Red Sea and downed a top-of-the-line US-operated MQ-9 multirole drone respectively.

One of the ships targeted on February 18 was deemed non-operational and remains to this day half-sunk in the Red Sea. The vessel was identified to be the UK-owned RUBYMAR and is said to have been carrying large quantities of ammonium nitrate.