50 DEAD AS FIGHTING FOR YEMEN’S MARIB FLARES

Sun 26 September 2021:

At least 50 Iran-backed Houthis and Yemeni pro-government troops have been killed as fighting intensifies for the key city of Marib, military sources said on Sunday.

“In the past 48 hours, 43 Houthi fighters were killed mostly in coalition airstrikes” west of Marib, a military source told AFP, while another source said at least seven loyalists died in fighting.

About 400 people have been reported dead in clashes in September for Marib, following a lull in fighting in the region.

Yemen’s internationally recognised government — backed by a Saudi-led military coalition — and the Houthis have been locked in war since 2014, when the insurgents seized the capital Sanaa.

In February, the Houthis escalated their efforts to take Marib in fighting that has killed hundreds on both sides. Control of the oil-rich north would strengthen the Houthis’ bargaining position in peace talks.

While the UN and Washington are pushing for an end to the war, the Houthis have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport, closed under a Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.

As well as the bloody offensive in Marib, the Houthis have also stepped up drone and missile strikes on Saudi targets, including its oil facilities.

In June, then UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that his efforts over the past three years to end the war had been “in vain”.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands and left some 80 percent of Yemenis dependent on aid, in what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The war has also displaced millions of people and left many on the brink of famine.

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