TUNIS, October 5. /TASS/. The Yemeni army intends to restore state control over all provinces of Yemen as part of the operation it has begun, Yemen’s Deputy Defense Minister Samir Al-Sabri said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

According to him, "this is a strategic military operation against the Houthi militia (members of the Yemeni rebel movement "Ansar Allah" – TASS)." "We are striving to restore state authority over all of Yemen’s provinces," he emphasized.

In the first phase, according to Al-Sabri, combat operations "will be concentrated in the area of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and the city of Mokha." The deputy defense minister reported that government forces have launched coordinated counterattacks, and the authorities intend to accelerate the pace of the operation in order to extend state control to other territories.

On October 5, Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi announced the launch of the Dawn of Yemen large-scale military operation to liberate the capital from the rebels. Government troops, supported by the Saudi-led coalition’s air force, drove the Houthis out of the Dhubab area and regained control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Riyadh-led coalition deployed 100 fighter jets in the operation, providing air cover for the advancing ground forces of the Yemeni army.