KSRelief is making great efforts to rehabilitate former child soldiers in Yemen Houthis lost 272 fighters pushing the number of casualties to 681 RIYADH: The legitimate Yemeni forces backed by the Arab coalition are making headway on all major fronts against the Iranian-backed Houthis across Yemen, said Col. Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition spokesman. Addressing the weekly press conference in Riyadh on Monday, Al-Maliki said the coalition is also making efforts to coordinate with the political, social and tribal components of Yemen to restore peace and foil the Houthi militia’s attempts to destabilize the country. Citing the statement recently issued by the Yemeni Religious Scholars’ Association condemning Houthi actions, Al-Maliki said the Yemenis have rejected the militia. The Yemeni scholars accuse the Houthis of looting humanitarian aid meant for the thousands of internally displaced Yemenis. They also called on the international community to take note of these atrocities and take appropriate measures to stop the Houthis. The coalition spokesman also highlighted the relief operations being carried out in Yemen. He said the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief) has launched an educational campaign to supply 5,000 chairs and tables and 150,000 books to schools in Yemen. He said the humanitarian operations in Yemen are in full swing and the Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations Plan in Yemen implemented by KSRelief has benefited as many as 5,168, 509 people in 181 days. Al-Maliki said the Yemeni forces have taken control of various areas in Saada province and other parts of Yemen. “The coalition has targeted a building used by the Houthi militias as a point to assemble their fighters, a number of military communication stations, a supply truck in Midi, a checkpoint, a weapons supply point, and a military truck used to transport weapons to the terrorist militias,” he said. Between July 16 and 23, he added, Houthis lost 272 fighters pushing the number of casualties to 681. Al-Maliki said that Saada and Omran governorates are still serving as ballistic missiles launching platforms toward Saudi Arabia. He said two missiles were launched from Saada toward Jazan and Najran between July 16 and 23. The spokesman said as many as 163 ballistic missiles and 66,362 projectiles have been fired at the Kingdom so far. He said KSRelief is also making great efforts to rehabilitate former child soldiers in Yemen. So far, he added, 188 child soldiers have been rehabilitated. ‘Release all detainees first’ Yemen’s government on Sunday said Houthis should release all detainees and captives held in their prisons ahead of peace talks, reported the Associated Press. The official news agency SABA quoted the government as saying that the Houthis should also hand over their arms and withdraw from all areas including the capital, Sanaa, which they seized in September 2014. The agency says Prime Minister Ahmed Obaid bin Daghr made the remarks in a meeting with Martin Griffiths, UN special envoy for Yemen. Last month, Griffiths announced plans to bring Yemen’s warring parties to the negotiating table. He held several meetings with both sides since.