Iran-backed Houthis were now in control of the Assilan, Bayhan and Ain districts in Shabwa as well as the Abdiya and Harib districts in Marib, said local officials and residents.
Hundreds of Iran-backed rebels have been killed in the battle for Marib in recent days, says the Saudi-led coalition backing the Aden government.
Houthis warn they are “on the edges of” Marib as Saudi-led coalition says it targeted nine of the rebels’ military vehicles south of the city.
More than 156 Houthi rebels were killed and eight military vehicles were destroyed in an operation in Abdiya, south of Marib, says the Saudi-led coalition fighting the militants in Yemen.
The intensified fighting for the northern city leaves at least 50 Houthi rebels and Yemeni pro-government troops dead. The continuing clashes have reportedly claimed around 400 lives in September.
No human casualties were reported, but the Foreign Ministry’s statement said the attack caused “huge destruction” to the port’s infrastructure and burned the storehouses of some aid agencies.
Sources with the internationally recognised government say that 16 soldiers from their ranks were killed, including six officers.
Two officials from pro-government forces say that the rebels were mounting a concerted push that had left 26 loyalist soldiers dead as well as 44 from Houthi ranks.
A recent Save the Children report says over 2,300 children were killed from 2018 to 2020 in the war between Iran-backed rebels and Saudi-led coalition supporting the government in Yemen.
The initiative would include a UN-supervised nationwide ceasefire and reopening of air and sea links blockaded by the Saudi-led coalition, main pre-conditions of the Iran-backed rebels before any peace deal.
Protesters say they are angry over a lack of services and delayed salaries, urging the UN to pressure the government into implementing economic reforms.
The raids in Yemen's rebel-held capital come after the coalition said it intercepted 10 drones launched by the rebels on Sunday, in a sharp escalation in cross-border attacks on the kingdom.
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