The Yemeni army spokesman General Sharaf Loqman told Al-Manar website that the preliminary operations have ended and that the strategic escalation stage has started.

The Yemeni army spokesman General Sharaf Loqman told Al-Manar website that the preliminary operations have ended and that the strategic escalation stage has started.

"We are ready to escalate operations, and the leadership will settle all the details," the Yemeni officer said.

"The Yemeni army and popular committees have surrounded the two Saudi cities of Jizan and Najran and the political leadership will take the decision of invading them," he added.

Luqman noted that the Yemeni army and popular committees are advancing in the various provinces and confronting the Saudi-led terrorists, adding that all the attempts to reach local ceasefire agreements are rejected because the aim is to expel all the terrorists.

General Luqman pointed out that the Yemeni army and popular committees withdrew from the south to let the locals defend their cities.

"However, Qaeda and ISIL terrorists have controlled the area, especially in Aden and Hadramout," he concluded.