At least 80 Houthi fighters have been killed in fierce clashes with Yemeni government forces outside the central city of Marib, as the Iran-backed group intensifies attacks aimed at capturing the energy-rich city.
Heavy fighting broke out over the past 24 hours between government forces, backed by warplanes and drones, and the Houthis in areas south of Marib, including Hareb, Mala’a and Um Raish, reports Arab News.
Brig Gen Yahya Al-Hatemi, director of the Yemeni army’s military media department, told Arab News on Sunday that government forces had repelled the attacks.
“The Houthis suffered more than 80 fatalities, the rest fled, and nine combat vehicles were destroyed,” Al-Hatemi said.
Warplanes also struck Houthi positions across the front lines in Marib province, targeting gatherings of fighters, military reinforcements and fortified positions, according to the Yemeni army.
Marib city hosts Yemen’s largest concentration of internally displaced people, with more than two million people having sought refuge there over the past decade after fleeing fighting or Houthi repression. The city is also home to oil and gas fields and a major power station.
The Yemeni army in Taiz said it had seized control of Nouman Mountain, west of the city, following clashes with the Houthis in surrounding mountainous areas.
Following recent military gains along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast, including in Mokha and areas around Bab Al-Mandab, the Houthis have launched attacks on Yemeni government positions in the mountainous Al-Madaribah Wa Al-Aarah district of Lahj province, as well as other locations in Taiz province overlooking the strategic strait, in an attempt to consolidate their gains.
The government’s Nation’s Shield Forces said on Sunday that they had repelled a Houthi attack and shot down a drone near Kahboub Mountain in Al-Madaribah Wa Al-Aarah.
For almost a week, Yemeni government forces, including the Giants Brigades and Nation’s Shield Forces, backed by local tribesmen, have been battling repeated Houthi assaults on Kahboub Mountain.
Capturing the mountain would give the Houthis a strategic position overlooking Bab Al-Mandab and could pave the way for a potential offensive towards the southern city of Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
Meanwhile, Yemeni army spokesperson Col Majed Al-Nuzaili said the army’s air force had struck Houthi personnel and military equipment in the central province of Al-Bayda.
