About 200 fighters have been killed in fresh clashes near the strategic Yemeni city of Marib, military and medical sources said on Tuesday, as violence escalated in the seven-year war.
Medical sources told AFP that more than 125 Houthi rebels were killed in airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition and clashes with pro-government forces in Shabwa and al-Bayda provinces bordering Marib.
Yemeni government sources said the pro-government Giants Brigade, backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, also lost 70 fighters. This clash took place in the last 24 hours.
According to the United Nations, the Saudi-led coalition in support of Yemen’s government has been fighting for nearly seven years against the Houthis, which have displaced millions and created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
As hostilities escalate, rebels said on Monday they had seized a military ship carrying the flag of the United Arab Emirates. The coalition insisted he was carrying medical supplies.
In September, rebels intensified their efforts to capture Marib, a provincial capital, the government’s last northern stronghold.
Recent weeks have seen another spike with Saudi airstrikes on rebel territory, while the Houthis intensified missile and drone strikes on the kingdom.
According to the Médecins Sans Frontieres team, which arrived in late December, in just one day on Sunday, 39 wounded arrived at the Ataq hospital in Shabwa.
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