ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

SOURCE: TASS Written by  Sergei Ischenko ; Originally appeared  Svpressa , translated by  AlexD  exclusively for  SouthFront What the Departmental Board Meeting with the Participation of the President Showed Every New Year’s Eve, the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Defence turns red from all the generals’ stripes. At the annual extended board meeting in the last days of December the entire team of the Armed Forces, the General Staff, Arms and Services, military districts and fleets from across the country meet. And almost always, the President of Russia, members of the government and the Security Council of the Russian Federation and the representatives of the defence industry. Thus, the results of the past year are summarised from each participant and the challenges facing the troops in the near future. Those who for some time observe attentively this gathering would certainly notice that in the current 2017, all was similar but not quite. The expanded board of the Minist

On December 30, forces loyal to Yemeni President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi captured al-Yatiymah area in Khabb wa Sha’af district of the northern province of al-Jawf, according to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV. The media outlet said that pro-Hadi fighters captured 59 fighters of the Houthis and killed many others during their advance in Khabb wa Sha’af. The Saudi-led coalition military operation in al-Jawf is aimed at besieging the heartland of the Houthis, Saada city. However, the Saudi-led coalition is still over 150km east of Saada. Meanwhile, in western Yemen, the Houthis conducted a series of hit and run attacks against several positions of pro-Hadi forces and the Saudi-led coalition north of the coastal town of Yakhtul in the province of Taiz, according to the Yemeni al-Masirah TV. During the attacks, the Houthis destroyed several vehicles and fortifications of the Saudi-led coalitions with ATGMs, rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs. Over the last two weeks, the Houthis have i