Yemeni sources said that the militants of the Houthi group have completed control of the entire district of Abdiya, south of the strategic Marib governorate, after a complete siege that lasted for about a month and violent battles with tribesmen in it.
The sources added that the Houthis are launching a massive arrest campaign in the district, and that several villages are witnessing a large wave of displacement.
Battles have resumed between the Yemeni army and the Houthis in the Serwah district, west of Ma'rib governorate, and the Armed Forces Media Center said that units of the army and the resistance are fighting violent battles against the Houthis on the "Al-Kasara" front in the region.
Al-Abdiyyah District is located southwest of the city of Ma’rib, and is inhabited by 36,000 people. It acquires strategic importance due to its geographical location, which makes it one of the gates of Ma’rib governorate, as well as its geographical link to the governorates of Al-Bayda and Shabwa from the west and south, through a wide mountain range.
Al-Abdiyyah represented a starting point for the government forces to move towards Al-Bayda governorate to cut the Houthi supply lines towards Shabwa governorate.
After taking control of Abdiya, the Houthis are close to controlling the center of the Juba district, which is about 30 kilometers from the oil-rich city of Ma'rib. The city is the last stronghold of the legitimate government in the north of the country. It is also the stronghold of the National Army and the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense.
Yesterday, Saturday, the US State Department condemned the escalation of the Houthis in Al-Abdiya in the Marib Governorate, and considered it a flagrant disregard for the safety of civilians.
Ministry spokesman Ned Price said - in a statement - that the Houthis impede the movement of people and humanitarian aid and prevent basic services from reaching the residents of Abdiya.
After 6 years of war, the Houthi group is still intensifying its attacks towards the strategic Marib.
Marib, which produces oil and gas, is the only governorate that has remained cohesive and has become an incubator for the legitimate government, and controlling it would change the balance of power between the Yemeni army supported by the Saudi-Emirati coalition and the Iranian-backed Houthis.
Marib represents the first threat to the Houthis because of its common border with Sanaa, which is the longest administrative border compared to other governorates.
It is also the first line of defense for the coastal governorates of Shabwa and Hadramout, the source of oil and gas, their export ports, and the international land transportation routes with Saudi Arabia and Oman.