Heavy fighting has erupted again around Yemen’s central city of Marib, with the national army reporting that at least 80 Houthi fighters were killed in clashes over the past 24 hours. The battle marks a sharp escalation as the Iran-backed militia presses its long running campaign to seize the energy rich hub.
Brig. Gen. Yahya Al-Hatemi, head of the army’s military media, said government forces, supported by warplanes and drones, repelled Houthi assaults in districts south of Marib, including Hareb, Mala’a and Um Raish. In addition to the dead, nine Houthi combat vehicles were destroyed, he told Arab News on Sunday, reported by Arab News.
Marib, home to Yemen’s largest oil and gas fields and a major power station, has become a symbolic and strategic prize. It also shelters more than 2 million internally displaced people who have fled fighting and Houthi rule elsewhere. Thousands have died in previous offensives on the city, none of which succeeded in capturing it.
While the Houthis publicly mourned at least 50 fighters in funeral processions across Sanaa, Amran and Hodeidah, Al-Hatemi claimed these acknowledged losses represented less than 10 percent of their true battlefield deaths. He accused the militia of treating its fighters as “expendable” and hiding the real toll to protect morale.
Beyond Marib, the army said it had taken Nouman Mountain west of Taiz after fierce clashes. The Houthis, meanwhile, have sought to consolidate recent gains along the Red Sea coast by attacking government positions in Lahj and Taiz provinces. Government forces reported shooting down a drone near Kahboub Mountain, a strategic height overlooking the Bab Al-Mandab strait and the route to Aden, the seat of the internationally recognized government.
Air strikes also hit Houthi positions in the central province of Al-Bayda, according to army spokesperson Col. Majed Al-Nuzaili. With front lines shifting across multiple provinces, the fighting shows little sign of easing despite earlier truces.
