As of: 06/27/2021 9:20 pm
In the oil-rich north of Yemen, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels are engaged in heavy fighting with government troops. According to official information, at least 40 Houthis were killed.
According to official information, at least 40 Houthi rebels were killed in heavy fighting in the Yemeni province of Marib. Heavy fighting has been raging in the oil-rich province since February between rebels and government troops who are fighting alongside a military alliance led by Saudi Arabia.
Since Saturday evening, the Houthis have attacked positions of the government troops and their allies, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdel-Rakib al-Schadadi of the dpa news agency. The Houthi rebels did not initially confirm the number of victims.
Houthis are supported by Iran
The insurgent Houthis are supported by Iran and rule large parts of northern Yemen including the capital Sanaa. With their offensive on Marib, which has been going on for months, they want to take a strategically important city from where a large part of the country’s energy resources are controlled. It is the last area in the north that is still ruled by government troops.
The conflict has plunged the already very impoverished country into the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The fight for Marib threatens to worsen the situation: According to the aid organization Doctors Without Borders (MSF), almost three million people fled to Marib from fighting in other parts of the country. “They often live in dire conditions,” wrote MSF on Twitter. Because of the fighting in Marib, many of these families were again displaced.