DUBAI, UAE — More than 140 rebels and pro-government
troops have been killed this week as fighting intensifies for Yemen's strategic
northern city of Marib, military and medical sources told AFP Friday.
اضافة اعلان
At least 51 loyalists were killed in the past four days,
most of them in clashes in the province of Shabwa and the neighboring
governorate of
Marib, multiple military sources said.
They added that at least 93 Iran-backed Houthi rebels also
died in the fighting and from air strikes by the Saudi-led military coalition
backing the government.
The Houthis rarely report casualty numbers, but figures were
confirmed by medical sources.
The Houthis in February escalated their efforts to seize
Marib, the government's last northern stronghold, and the fighting has killed
hundreds on both sides.
Control of the oil-rich region would strengthen the Houthis'
bargaining position in peace talks.
According to the military sources, who spoke on condition of
anonymity, the Houthis have made advances and seized four districts — one in
Marib and three in Shabwa.
"Three districts in Shabwa have fallen in limited
clashes and within hours," one official told AFP.
Humanitarian crisis
Yemen's conflict flared in 2014 when the Houthis seized the
capital Sanaa, prompting Saudi-led intervention to prop up the internationally
recognized government the following year.
This month marks seven years since the rebels took control
of Sanaa, with some analysts saying the balance has tilted in favor of the
insurgents against the coalition.
Earlier this week, Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg, the UN’s
new envoy for Yemen, was in Oman, which has played a mediating role in the
Yemen conflict.
He met with Omani and Houthi officials, including top rebel
negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam.
"Sustainable peace can only be achieved through a
peacefully negotiated settlement," said Grundberg, according to a
statement on Tuesday.
"It is imperative that all efforts are directed towards
revitalizing a political process that can produce lasting solutions that meet
the aspirations of Yemeni women and men."
While the UN and Washington are pushing for an
end to the war, the Houthis have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport, closed under a
Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.
The last talks took place in Sweden in 2018, when the
opposing sides agreed to a mass prisoner swap and to spare the city of Hodeida,
where the port serves as the country's lifeline.
But despite agreeing to a ceasefire in Hodeida, violent
clashes have since broken out between the rebels and pro-government troops
around the strategic city.
Fighting across the country has killed tens of thousands and
left about 80 percent of Yemenis dependent on aid, in what the UN calls the
world's worst humanitarian crisis.
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