65 killed in fierce battles .. Agency: An important progress for the Houthi rebels towards Marib
English - Sunday 25 April 2021 الساعة 02:23 pm
NewsYemen, agencies:
Agence France-Presse said that the Houthi rebels have made important progress towards the strategic city of Marib, the last stronghold of the legitimate authority in the north, after fierce battles with government forces in which 65 from both sides were killed, according to military officials on Sunday.
Officials in the pro-government forces said that the rebels had completed control of Ksara in the northwest of the city and the battles moved to the outskirts of the Mile region, less than six kilometers from the city of Ma'rib .. And the mountains surrounding the Mile region became the most important line of defense for the city from its western side.
In the past 48 hours, 26 pro-government forces, including four officers, and 39 in the ranks of the rebels were killed, according to military officials.
According to those officials, the Houthis "were forced to use motorcycles in their attacks, after aviation began targeting most of their military vehicles."
The Houthis pushed hundreds of fighters over the past two days to resolve the battle.
Despite the air strikes, their fighters "do not stop flowing and fighting to achieve further progress," according to one of the military sources.
According to the World News Agency, the Houthis are seeking to lay their hands on the entire north of Yemen .. With the aim of achieving this, they launch continuous attacks to enter the city of Ma'ab, which is located in the oil-rich province of the same name, despite the raids of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia that supports the government forces, noting that the Houthis supported by Iran are trying A year ago, he denied control of the city of Ma'rib.
After a period of calm, on February 8, the Houthis resumed their attack on government forces supported by the Arab coalition since the start of its operations in Yemen in March 2015.
Hundreds of both sides have been killed in the battles that are taking place near the city, about 120 km east of the capital, Sanaa, which is under the control of the Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen - since 2014.
"The Houthis seek to control Marib before entering into any new talks, especially in light of the US President Joe Biden's administration pressures to push for a political solution," the agency said.
The rebel offensive in Marib continues despite calls for a truce in the war-torn country since 2014.
In March, the Houthis rejected Saudi Arabia's call for a nationwide ceasefire, and demanded the complete lifting of the air and sea embargo on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port, which are under their control.
They also escalated attacks by drones and ballistic missiles towards the depth of the Kingdom, which provides air support to pro-government forces in the battles of Marib.
And Marib remained immune from the war at its beginning.
The location of the small city is important not only because of its proximity to Sana'a, but also because it is considered a stepping stone towards the southern and northern regions alike, thanks to the main junction, whose houses are distributed on its sides.
Between 20 and 30 thousand people lived in Marib in the period before the outbreak of the war in 2014, but its population doubled to hundreds of thousands after displaced people from all regions of Yemen sought refuge in it, and it now includes about 140 camps for the displaced.
According to the UN Security Council, the battle for Marib "exposes one million internally displaced persons to a great danger and threatens efforts to reach a political solution, at a time when the international community is increasingly uniting to end the conflict."
For months, an official in the government forces accused the Houthis of pushing waves of young recruits, including even children, with the aim of depleting loyalist forces and depleting their ammunition, seeking to penetrate their ranks and gain access to the city of Marib to seize it.
