More than 218 Houthi rebels killed in air strikes around Marib‏‏

English version

اليمن العربي

The Saudi-led military Arab coalition in Yemen said on Sunday that more than 218 Houthi rebels were killed in air strikes around Marib city, the internationally recognised government's last northern bastion.

 

"Twenty-four military vehicles were destroyed and more than 218" insurgents were killed in strikes in the past 72 hours in two districts, according to the official Saudi Press Agency, which has since October 11 issued near-daily reports of bombing around Marib, capital of the oil-rich province of the same name.

 

Since then the coalition -- which has been fighting in Yemen to support the government for almost seven years -- says it has killed around 2,200 insurgents in the Marib area.

 

The latest bombing was carried out in Al-Jawba, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) south of Marib, and Al-Kassara, 30 kilometres to the northwest.

 

They began a major push to seize Marib in February and, after a lull, renewed their offensive since September.

 

The Yemeni war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, 120 kilometres (74 miles) west of Marib, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year.

 

Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.