The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in Yemen said today it had killed more than 157 Houthi guerrillas in the last 24 hours in new raids around the province of Marib, the last stronghold of the forces of the internationally recognized government in the region, in the north of the war-torn country.
The coalition, which has supported the government since 2015, has been saying daily for at least a month that it has inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels, but that has not stopped the latter from advancing on Marib.
Coalition accounts cannot be confirmed by an independent source, and the Houthis rarely announce their losses.
“Fourteen military vehicles have been destroyed and more than 157 terrorists have been neutralized,” the coalition said in a statement broadcast by the official Saudi news agency SPA. Saudi Arabia uses the term “terrorists” when referring to Shiite rebels close to Iran, its main rival in the region.
The airstrikes targeted two areas around the oil-rich province of Marib, al-Jouf (north) and al-Baida (south). The coalition also struck Shirouah, west of Marib, the capital of the province of Marib, within the province of Marib.
Since the war broke out in 2014 with the occupation of the capital Sanaa (north), the Houthis, close to Iran, have gradually taken control of a large part of northern Yemen, with the exception of Marib. The loss of this strategically important province would be a disaster for the government and its Saudi ally.
The coalition air force is backing government troops trying to repel the Houthi offensive in Marib.
Air raids and ground battles have escalated in recent weeks around the city, which has been at the center of a bloody battle since February.
On Tuesday, a military official of the forces of the internationally recognized government admitted that the guerrillas were advancing towards Marib, despite the reported losses. At the same time, the Houthis were assuring that they were very close to the city.
In seven years, the war has plunged Yemen into one of the worst humanitarian tragedies in the world according to the UN, with more than two-thirds of the population dependent on international aid. Tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, have been killed and millions displaced, according to international organizations.
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