New fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi rebels over the strategic northern town of Marib erupted on Saturday (June 19), killing dozens, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. military sources.
These latest developments come as the United Nations (UN) envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths, on Tuesday drew up before the UN Security Council a statement of failure in his efforts to end the deadly war. in this country, at the end of his three-year mission.
Several Houthi attacks
The Iranian-backed rebels seek to seize Marib and its surrounding oil fields, which are the last stronghold of government forces in northern Yemen, after more than six years of war that plunged the country into grave humanitarian crisis.
According to pro-government military sources, the fighting in Marib left 47 dead on Saturday, including 16 loyalist fighters, including six officers. The Houthis, for their part, very rarely report the victims of the fighting in their ranks.
Diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire and end this battle, which has claimed thousands of lives, had intensified in recent weeks. But in the absence of progress, the fighting finally resumed. The Houthis “Launched attacks on several fronts, trying to advance, but most of them were repulsed”a military official told AFP.
Saudi Arabia-led military coalition planes have carried out attacks on Houthi sites, military sources said.
The rebels, for their part, claimed on their Al Masirah television channel that the coalition had carried out seventeen airstrikes in different regions of the province of Marib.
Intercepted drones
The Houthis, who control most of northern Yemen and the capital Sana’a, are calling on Riyadh to end the air and sea blockade imposed on their country as a precondition for a ceasefire agreement.
In addition to their offensive on Marib, the Houthis regularly launch missiles and drones towards Saudi territory, targeting in particular its oil installations. On Saturday, the Saudi air defense, which has intervened militarily in Yemen since 2015 against the Houthis, “Intercepted” and destroyed eleven drones fired by the rebels in the direction of the kingdom, according to the official SPA news agency, citing the coalition led by Riyadh.
“The interception operations were a success”the coalition said in a statement, adding that the drones were loaded with explosives and seven had been neutralized in Yemeni airspace.
The war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people, according to various aid organizations. More than two-thirds of the 30 million inhabitants, facing increased risks of epidemics and famine, depend on international aid. Today, according to the UN, is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.