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More than 100 Houthi rebels killed in Yemen: Saudi-led coalition

The coalition led by Saudi Arabia says it has killed at least 108 Iran-backed rebels and destroyed dozens of their military vehicles in an air strike south of the strategic city of Marib in the past 24 hours.

AP

Smoke rises from a Houthi missile attack near the Kassara frontline during clashes with Yemeni fighters backed by the Saudi-led coalition, in Marib, Yemen on June 20, 2021.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels has said that it killed more than 100 of the Iran-backed insurgents in air strikes south of the strategic city of Marib.

"We have conducted 19 operations targeting (Houthi) militia members in the past 24 hours in Abdiya, destroying 12 of their military vehicles and their losses exceeded 108 members," the coalition said in a statement carried by state-run Al Ekhbariya TV on Wednesday.

More than 100 Yemeni rebels have been killed south of Marib, the Saudi-led coalition said while reporting a heavy toll for the third straight day in fighting for the strategic city.

Hundreds dead in three days

The Iran-backed Houthis' latest casualties in the Abdiya district "exceeded 108", the coalition added, after announcing more than 156 dead on Monday and over 134 on Tuesday.

That brought the unconfirmed toll to about 400 in the area this week as an analyst said the rebels have made significant advances.

The coalition, which relies heavily on air strikes to combat the Shia Houthis, did not reveal how it arrived at those figures.

The incident came after the Houthi rebels were reported to have made military gains in the central Marib province amid fighting against Yemeni government forces, according to local sources.

Houthi rebels have reportedly seized the village of Al Qahir, Al Rawda and Al Khuweir, and Waset town in southern Marib as per the same sources.

“The Yemeni army and tribesmen are engaged in fierce fighting against Houthis to prevent the fall of Al Jubah district near the center of Marib,” they added.

On Tuesday, the Yemeni government warned of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe amid a rebel blockade on Al Abdiyah district in Marib.

Fight for oil-rich Marib

In recent months, Houthi rebels have stepped up attacks to take control of the oil-rich Marib province, one of the most important strongholds of the legitimate government and home to the headquarters of Yemen’s Defence Ministry.

On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration said more than 74,000 Yemenis have been displaced from their homes since the start of this year due to ongoing fighting in the war-torn country.

Yemen has been engulfed by violence and instability since 2014, when Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured much of the country, including the capital Sanaa.

A Saudi-led coalition aimed at reinstating the Yemeni government has worsened the situation, causing one of the world’s worst manmade humanitarian crises with 233,000 people killed, nearly 80 percent or about 30 million needing humanitarian assistance and protection, and more than 13 million in danger of starvation, according to UN estimates.

SOURCE: TRTWorld and agencies