Local sources told Al-Jazeera that violent battles erupted between the Yemeni army forces and tribesmen on one side and the Ansar Allah Houthi group on the other, in the Al-Juba district, south of Ma'rib governorate, and the Saudi-led coalition announced the implementation of 31 operations in several locations in the governorate.
Today, Friday, the sources reported that the Houthis launched a major attack on Yemeni army and tribesmen positions, and were able to control the village of Naga after battles in which dozens of people were killed and wounded on both sides.
According to the sources, the Houthis are seeking to reach a main road linking the districts of Al-Juba and Jabal Murad, south of Marib.
For its part, the media center of the Yemeni army said that its forces are fighting violent battles against the Houthis, and that they have repelled attacks against them south of Ma'rib.
Meanwhile, Saudi TV quoted the Saudi-led coalition as saying that it had carried out 31 targeting of Houthi vehicles and their elements in al-Juba and al-Kasara in Ma'rib governorate during the last 24 hours.
He added that the operations resulted in the destruction of 16 military vehicles and the death of 92 people.
The suffering of the displaced
Meanwhile, thousands of displaced families are living in extremely difficult conditions, and some of them have had to flee more than once due to the fighting in Ma'rib Governorate.
Reuters news agency monitored the suffering of Yemeni Iman Saleh Ali and her family, who fled al-Juba in the darkness of the night, carrying only their clothes on their backs to escape the raging fighting.
Eman is waiting for help with 25 other families in a temporary camp in Wadi Ubaidah, east of the city of Ma'rib, which is already home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people.
Displaced people in a temporary camp on the outskirts of the city of Ma'rib (Reuters)
Last week, the Houthis took control of the strategic Abdiya district, and fighting continues in the districts of Juba and Jabal Murad.
The United Nations says about 10,000 people have been displaced last month by fighting in Marib Governorate, the last stronghold of the internationally recognized government in the north of the country.
On the other hand, demonstrators in the city of Taiz demanded that the Yemeni government take measures to stop the economic decline, the collapse of the local currency, and the payment of employee salaries that have been delayed for months.
The demonstrators called on the Saudi-led coalition to provide the necessary support to the Yemeni army to confront the Houthi militia, and to regain control of all areas.
The participants also expressed their solidarity with the army forces and tribesmen in their fight against the Houthis in the governorates of Shabwa and Marib.