The Houthi rebels have been trying since last February to take control of the oil-rich Yemeni province of Ma'rib to get rid of the last strongholds of loyalists to the internationally recognized authority, which led to a large number of deaths, amid a diplomatic battle with no prospect of a ceasefire.
The French newspaper (Liberation) said that the battle of Marib appears decisive for the future of Yemen, noting that the clashes across the country left 67 people dead during the past 24 hours between soldiers loyal to the government and Houthi rebels who are doing their best to control the city, located about 120 kilometers away. From the capital, Sana'a, getting the main missing link for them in the north of the country.
In recent days - as the newspaper says - the fighting has intensified around Marib, where about 400 fighters from both camps were killed this September, and 3,000 from the national army, tribes and Houthis were killed throughout 2020 in the battles of this city, according to government data.
Military sources told AFP that 58 rebels and 9 government soldiers were killed "in battles and air strikes" in the governorates of Ma'rib and Shabwa, as also confirmed by medical reports. The Saudi-led military coalition that supports the forces loyal to the recognized authority - according to government sources - has carried out more of 20 strikes on Iran-backed rebels who have controlled the capital, Sanaa, since 2014.
The battle of Marib - according to the newspaper - has led to a deepening of the conflict in Yemen, where international organizations estimate that the war has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, and where the worst humanitarian disaster in the world is spreading, according to the United Nations, warning of the danger of widespread famine, especially since About 80% of Yemen's population of 30 million depend on humanitarian aid, which is underfunded.
futile diplomatic efforts
At a time when the United Nations and Washington are calling for an end to this conflict, the Houthis demand - according to the newspaper - before any ceasefire or negotiations to reopen Sanaa airport, which has been besieged by the coalition since 2016, and the efforts of the United Nations in recent years have failed in all its attempts to end the fighting. .
The former United Nations envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, had prepared a report in which he announced the failure after a 3-year mission, after which his successor, the Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg, called for "a lasting peace", and said that "it is necessary to make all efforts to relaunch the political process that can be It generates lasting solutions that meet the aspirations of Yemeni men and women.”
Liberation indicated that the Ma'rib governorate hosts more than two million displaced people distributed in 139 camps, and this shelter is threatened by the Houthi attack, especially since the various tribes of Marib represent the protective wall of the south and west together from the advance of the rebels, and it is the last stronghold of the central government in the north.