Sanaa (South24) 

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Today, the Houthi militia announced that 5 Northern officers defected from the internationally recognized government of Yemen and joined them.

The Houthis' Saba Agency said that Major Hammam Mohammed Ali Al-Maqdashi, the commander of the personal guard of the former Yemeni Defense Minister, Mohammed Al-Maqdashi, joined the militia.

According to the Houthi agency, the list included Major Fatah Al-Wasabi, the commander of the 1st Company of the 3rd Brigade.

The agency did not identify the other three officers, but it released a group photo of them with Houthi military commanders in Sanaa.

These developments come in light of a military escalation carried out by the Houthi militia against the Southern forces on Yafaa, Al-Dhalea and Shabwa fronts.

The Houthis announced early last June that loyalists of former Yemeni Vice President, General Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, had joined them.

Related: Loyalists of Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar Join the Houthis

The militia said that a number of Northern officers, including the office director of Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, Major General Abdulhamid Al-Nahari, arrived in Sanaa.