Army officers allied with the Houthis gather to mark three years of war in the country, in the capital Sanaa on March 26, 2018. MOHAMMED HUWAIS
Ten soldiers have been killed in fresh fighting with Houthi rebels in Yemen, military sources told AFP on Wednesday, despite diplomatic efforts to end the conflict that has been going on since 2014. The clashes took place in the province oil tanker in Marib, the last stronghold of power in the North and the scene of sporadic fighting, even during a truce in hostilities in effect since last April. The Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, have attacked a mountainous area and are strengthening their forces in the region, two military sources told AFP.
“The Houthis launched an attack on the hills overlooking Harib district, south of Marib, and advanced on this front, displacing dozens of familiessaid one of the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At least 10 soldiers were killed, along with an unknown numberof fighters among opposing forces, the source added in comments confirmed by a second military officer.
The fighting comes a month after the deaths of at least four soldiers, killed in clashes with rebels in the same area. They risk dampening hopes of appeasement in this country, the poorest in the Arabian Peninsula, aroused by the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which supports government forces in Yemen.
Appeasement?
In this same context of rapprochement between the two heavyweights in the region, who announced on March 10 their decision to restore their diplomatic relations, the UN announced on Monday an agreement concluded in Switzerland between the government and the rebels on an exchange of more than 880 prisoners, calling on both sides to continue negotiations.“I am pleased to report that both sides have approved a plan to release 887 detainees“, welcomed Monday the UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, at the end of ten days of discussions organized under the aegis of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). .
Participants have “agreed to meet again in mid-May to discuss a new prisoner exchange“, he added, specifying that “the exchange would take place in three weeks“. The prisoner exchange is good news for hundreds of Yemeni families, but “much remains to be doneto end the conflict in Yemen, he warned. But the current regional dynamics and the “serious diplomatic efforts undertaken at different levelscould help move in that direction, he added.
According to the UN, the civil war that started in 2014 left hundreds of thousands dead, millions displaced, and left two-thirds of the population in need of aid, with a situation close to famine in large scale. A UN-brokered ceasefire, which came into effect in April 2022, has significantly reduced hostilities. It expired in October, the belligerents not having reached an agreement allowing it to be renewed, but the fights remain relatively rare.