Yemen: the fierce battle of the Houthis to take Marib
Yemen, province of Marib, mid-April 2021: fighters from government forces involved in the fighting against the Houthis who are trying to take control of the town of Marib.
Nabil Alawzari AFP / Archivos
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In Yemen, since February, the Houthis have been on the offensive to take control of the strategic city of Marib, in the middle of the oil zone.
The last fights claimed at least 65 victims, this Sunday, April 25, reports Agence France Presse.
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At least 65 fighters have perished in the past 48 hours in the Battle of Marib in Yemen, in the north of the country at war, according to government sources this Sunday, April 25.
Among the dead, 26 members of government forces, including four officers.
The Houthis rarely communicate their losses.
The Houthi rebels are now a few kilometers from the town of Marib, capital of the eponymous province, despite air support from the Saudi-led coalition, which is militarily assisting government forces in the battle, according to the officials. same sources.
Marib is the last government stronghold in the north of the country.
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See also
: in Yemen, at least 96 dead in fighting near the city of Marib
Map of Yemen.
In red, the city of Marib, capital of the eponymous province, 120 km from the capital, Sanaa.
© Google Maps
Failed truce and peace plan
The Houthis now have full control of the Kassara front in the northwest of the province and maintain their assault despite calls for a truce.
In mid-April, United Nations envoy Martin Griffiths urged the camps to accept the peace plan he had submitted to them.
Since February, the United Nations has proposed a conflict settlement plan including a national ceasefire, the opening of roads between the north and the south of the country to guarantee the free movement of people, humanitarian aid and goods, and the launch of a political peace process.
Riyadh, which is trying to extricate itself from the Yemeni quagmire and whose oil installations are regularly the target of missiles and drones from Houthi rebels,
proposed in March a total ceasefire
.
But the Houthis are calling for a complete lifting of the air and sea embargo imposed by the Saudis.
A humanitarian catastrophe
Leaving their stronghold in northern Yemen, the Houthis, politically supported by Iran which denies providing them with weapons, took the capital Sanaa, located 120 kilometers west of Marib, at the end of 2014. part of the north of the country.
This conflict has killed tens of thousands of people according to NGOs, and caused the biggest humanitarian disaster in the world, according to the UN, with millions of displaced people - including nearly a million in the refugee camps near Marib - and a population on the brink of famine.
The United Nations, which regularly warns of the human tragedy caused by this war, organized an
international conference
to raise funds on March 1.
Only $ 1.7 billion was raised; of the $ 4 billion hoped for.
According to recent UN figures, more than 16 million Yemenis, or about half of the population of 29 million, are at risk of hunger this year.
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