Battle of the Jabara Valley

Battle of the Jabara Valley
	Part of Operation Victory from God
	; Map of the battle ; Houthi forces Saudi-led forces
Date	26 – 29 August 2019; (3 days)
Location	Jabara Valley, Yemen
Result	Decisive Houthi victory Saudi reinforcements decimated.; Saudi forces encircled and destroyed;
Belligerents
Houthi government Houthi fighters;	Saudi Arabia al-Fateh Brigade;
Commanders and leaders
Mohamed al-Atifi	Radad al-Hashemi; (al-Fateh Brigade)
Strength
Around 500-800	1,100–2,000
Casualties and losses
Unknown but less than 200	1,000–1,900 killed or captured, 100 escaped; 200+ vehicles destroyed or captured

The Battle of the Jabara Valley occurred between 26 and 29 August 2019, during the Second Yemeni Civil War. It was part of Operation Victory from God, a major Houthi-led offensive along the Saudi Arabian-Yemeni border.

The battle

A Saudi Arabian auxiliary force of around 1,100 men from the al-Fateh Brigade launched an offensive into the Jabara Valley in Yemen's Saada Governorate against Houthi forces.^[4] When the al-Fateh Brigade entered the valley, it was initially met with no resistance. A Houthi force then enveloped the Saudi-aligned force and besieged it for four days. Saudi air support was ineffective at breaking the envelopment, with sources reporting that the Saudis accidentally struck their own positions with airstrikes.^[4]^[2] On 29 August 2019, a small breakout occurred with about 100 men from the pro-Saudi force escaping. The remaining thousand pro-Saudi troops capitulated, with approximately 1,000 to 2,000 killed or captured.^[4] The battle was part of the initial phase of Operation Victory from God.^[5]

Aftermath

Houthi sources reported that a Saudi airstrike killed several Yemeni prisoners of war captured during the battle.^[3]

The Houthis continued their offensive in course of September 2019.^[6]

Use of foreign weaponry by Saudis

NGOs from the EU have discovered Arms Exports to Saudi Arabia that had been used in Yemen, notably in the Jabara Valley.^[7]

References

^ Orkaby, Asher (25 March 2015). "Houthi Who?". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
^ ^a ^b Hassan Mohammed (3 October 2019). "روايات من قلب الانتكاسة .. كيف وقع لواء الفتح فريسة سهلة للحوثيين" [Novels from the heart of the setback .. How the brigade of conquest fell prey easy to the Houthis]. Balqees TV (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
^ ^a ^b "منهم الأسرى الذين قصف طيران التحالف مركز احتجازهم في مدينة ذمار..؟" [Who were the prisoners killed in the Coalition bombing of detention center in Dhamar?]. Yemenat.net (in Arabic). 1 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "'I curse myself': Yemeni mercenaries say their Saudi fighting days are over". Middle East Eye. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.
^ Weiss, Caleb (29 September 2019). "Houthis claim major operation inside Saudi Arabia". Long War Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
^ Cole, Juan. "Yemen's Houthis Claim Invasion of Saudi Arabia, Capture of Thousands of Troops in Najran". Common Dreams. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
^ Lammerant, Hans (17 October 2020). "BELGIAN ARMS IN YEMEN". Istopthearmstrade.eu.

[1] Orkaby, Asher (25 March 2015). "Houthi Who?". Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 25 March 2015.

[belqees-2] Hassan Mohammed (3 October 2019). "روايات من قلب الانتكاسة .. كيف وقع لواء الفتح فريسة سهلة للحوثيين" [Novels from the heart of the setback .. How the brigade of conquest fell prey easy to the Houthis]. Balqees TV (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.

[yemenat-20190901-3] "منهم الأسرى الذين قصف طيران التحالف مركز احتجازهم في مدينة ذمار..؟" [Who were the prisoners killed in the Coalition bombing of detention center in Dhamar?]. Yemenat.net (in Arabic). 1 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.

[mee-20190903-4] "'I curse myself': Yemeni mercenaries say their Saudi fighting days are over". Middle East Eye. 3 September 2019. Retrieved 4 September 2019.

[5] Weiss, Caleb (29 September 2019). "Houthis claim major operation inside Saudi Arabia". Long War Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2019.

[6] Cole, Juan. "Yemen's Houthis Claim Invasion of Saudi Arabia, Capture of Thousands of Troops in Najran". Common Dreams. Retrieved 22 June 2023.

[7] Lammerant, Hans (17 October 2020). "BELGIAN ARMS IN YEMEN". Istopthearmstrade.eu.

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v t e List of modern conflicts in the Middle East
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1950s	1952 Egyptian revolution 1953 Iranian coup d'état Jebel Akhdar War Cyprus Emergency Suez Crisis Yemeni–Adenese clan violence 1958 Lebanon crisis 1958 Iraqi revolution 1959 Mosul uprising
1960s	Cyprus crisis of 1963–1964 Iraqi–Kurdish conflict First Iraqi–Kurdish War Second Iraqi–Kurdish War Dhofar Rebellion North Yemen Civil War Feb. 1963 Iraqi coup Mar. 1963 Syrian coup Nov. 1963 Iraqi coup Aden Emergency 1964 Hama riot Israeli–Palestinian conflict 1948 Palestine war First Intifada Second Intifada 1966 Syrian coup d'état 1969 Saudi Arabian coup attempt
1970s	Black September in Jordan 1972 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Yemenite War of 1972 Turkish invasion of Cyprus Shatt al-Arab clashes Lebanese Civil War Political violence in Turkey Islamist uprising in Syria 1977 Shia uprising in Iraq NDF Rebellion Yemenite War of 1979 Iranian Revolution Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution 1979 Qatif Uprising Grand Mosque seizure 1979–1980 Shia uprising in Iraq
1980s	Iran–Iraq War 1980 Turkish coup d'état Kurdish–Turkish conflict Turkey–PKK conflict South Yemen civil war 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot 1986 Damascus bombings 1987 Sharjawi coup d'état attempt Mecca massacre Abu Nidal's executions
1990s	Gulf War (1990–1991) 1991 Iraqi uprisings Terror campaign in Egypt (1990s) Yemeni Civil War (1994) Iraqi Kurdish Civil War Islamic insurgency in Saudi Arabia (2000–present) Operation Desert Fox al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen 1999 Shia uprising in Iraq
2000s	Iraq War Balochi insurgency in Iran 2004 Qamishli riots Houthi insurgency in Yemen Iran–Israel proxy conflict 2006 Lebanon War Fatah–Hamas conflict South Yemen insurgency
2010s	2011 Bahraini uprising Egyptian Crisis Sinai insurgency Insurgency in Egypt (2013–present) Syrian civil war Turkish involvement in Syria Syrian War spillover in Lebanon Iraqi insurgency (2011–2013) War in Iraq (2013–2017) Islamic State insurgency in Iraq (2017–present) Yemeni crisis Yemeni civil war (2014–present)
2020s	2021 Beirut clashes Gaza war Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present) Red Sea crisis
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