Yemen: fighting intensifies in the north, more than 60 dead in 2 days in Marib
Loyalist forces, supported by the Saudi coalition, near the front line against the Houthi rebels, in al-Kassara, near Marib, on June 28, 2021. © AFP
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At least 65 fighters have been killed in the past 48 hours in Marib province in the north of the country, a Yemeni military official said on Thursday (September 2nd).
The deadly clashes between the Houthi rebellion and loyalist forces have escalated over the past two days.
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This is a new episode in an offensive launched last February.
Since then, Houthi rebels in Yemen have been trying to capture the Marib region,
an area controlled by government forces
in largely rebel-dominated northern Yemen.
"
Government forces side, there have been 22 dead and 50 wounded, and Houthis side 43 dead in the last 48 hours
" in the fighting south of the eponymous provincial capital, said the government official on condition of anonymity.
The Houthis, for their part, only very rarely report victims in their ranks.
The successive assaults of the Shiite rebels and the bombardments of the Saudi coalition (in support of the Sunni loyalist camp) have killed hundreds on this front since February.
The Houthis have surrounded the city for months.
Six years of war
In recent days, the war in Yemen has taken a turn for the worse.
A missile and drone attack on a loyalist military base left dozens of victims.
Several other people were injured in neighboring Saudi Arabia,
when a civilian airport was targeted by trapped drones
.
Each time, the Houthi rebellion has been blamed.
Yemen has been devoured by this war and its tragic humanitarian consequences for more than 6 years.
According to the United Nations, the toll shows tens of thousands of deaths and
the world's worst humanitarian crisis
.
In a few days,
a new UN envoy is due to take office
: the Swede Hans Grundberg, after the departure of the Briton Martin Griffiths.
But without any tangible prospect of peace talks.
The Houthis have rejected a proposed ceasefire by the Saudis, demanding that the latter first lift their air and sea embargo on Yemen.
► See also
:
Saudi Arabia: the massive "layoffs" of Yemenis worry Human Rights Watch
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