Yemen | 70 dead in 24 hours in battle for Marib’s takeover – INTERACTIVE MAP

Defence Redefined

Published on 12/04/2021 at 11:06

New battles have claimed the lives of 70 people in the last 24 hours in war-torn northern Yemen, where forces of the internationally recognized government and Shiite Houthi rebels clash for the takeover of the strategically important Marib region, the last government stronghold in the north.

Fighting in this oil-rich province is escalating, with at least 53 dead already on both sides on Saturday.

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The Houthis have been stepping up their efforts since February to oust Marib from the forces swearing allegiance to the internationally recognized government, but their attacks have been repulsed with the help of the Saudi-led coalition air force, which intervened in the clash in March 2015.

The attack by Shiite rebels has not stopped despite numerous calls for a ceasefire in the country where conflict has been raging since 2014.

In the past 24 hours, 26 government forces fighters and 44 Houthi members have been killed in hostilities, according to two government army officials. The guerrillas rarely reveal if or how many casualties they suffered.

The fighting mainly takes place on the Kasara and Masjaa fronts, northwest of the city of Marib, the capital of the homonymous province, as well as in southern Jabal Murad.

“They were advancing on the Kassara Masjaa front, but were repulsed in Jabal Murad,” one of the two officers said, referring to the guerrillas.

Allied airstrikes destroyed “12 Houthi military vehicles, four tanks and a cannon,” the second officer said.

The Battle of Marib intensifies the diplomatic stalemate and humanitarian crisis in Yemen, which the UN calls the worst in the world.

Large numbers of displaced civilians have taken refuge in Marib. According to the internationally recognized government, some 140 camps have been set up in the province to accommodate more than two million displaced people.

The loss of Marib would be a heavy blow to the government and Riyadh.

The Iranian-backed Houthis had captured the capital Sanaa, about 120 kilometers west of Marib, and most of northern Yemen by late 2014.

Also read: Yemen | Saudi F-15  fighter shoots down Houthi “Qasef-2K”  – VIDEO

In recent months, insurgents have stepped up missile launches and UAV attacks against Saudi Arabia, often targeting the Sunni kingdom’s oil infrastructure, which ranks first in world crude oil exports.

Despite the airstrikes of the alliance, the Houthis reject the proposal of the Saudis to declare a ceasefire. The United Nations has condemned the escalation of fighting in Marib, as has Washington.

“Aid alone will not end the conflict. We cannot end the humanitarian crisis in Yemen unless the war ends,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told an international donors’ meeting in early March.

“The first necessary step is to end the attack on Marib (…) and (the rebels) together with the Saudis and the Yemeni government to act constructively to bring peace,” he added. The war, which broke out in 2014 when rebels launched an attack from their strongholds in the north, has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, according to NGOs, and has pushed millions more to the brink of starvation.

INTERACTIVE MAP

Navigate on the map using the icons. The forces of the Saudi Arabian coalition are shown in red, and the forces led by the Houthis are shown in green. 

Source: Middle East Watch / Southfront.org / CNA

Also read: Yemen | The Houthis are at the gates of Marib – Violent clashes – Updated Map & VIDEO