Yemen: Houthi rebels launch new offensive against coalition in north
A soldier loyal to the Saudi-led coalition exchanges fire with Houthi rebels near Marib on November 22, 2020 © AFP
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While the Houthi rebels resumed on Monday February 8 an offensive against the city of Marib, one of the strongholds still held by government and Saudi forces in northern Yemen, Paris denounced Tuesday February 9 "an escalation" which should "Immediately cease", following in Washington and London's footsteps.
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The Houthis' ambitions for Marib are not recent.
After leaving Sana'a in 2015,
the government
of President Abdrabbo Mansour Hadi made the city its strong base in the north of the country.
And the province is rich in gas and oil resources.
For a year, the Houthi rebels have opened several fronts around Marib, but the fighting had ceased in recent weeks: it is now taking place at the gates of this city where two million displaced people have found refuge.
"
Stop your attacks and we will stop our attacks against you
: it's that simple
," replied Tuesday, February 9 Hicham Charraf, one of the leaders of the rebellion.
He accuses the Saudi aviation of having targeted the forces of his movement.
According to the Houthis, this message is addressed to the Saudis, but also to the new American administration.
Because Joe Biden has already taken the opposite view of his predecessor, Donald Trump, saying that the war in Yemen, which "
created a humanitarian and strategic catastrophe
", "
must end
".
In a hope of fostering a negotiated solution,
Washington also announced the suspension of its arms exports
to Saudi Arabia and removed the Houthis
from organizations supporting terrorism
.
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See also
: Arab Spring: in Yemen, the peaceful movement has turned into a civil war
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