Fourteen individuals were either killed or injured in intense fighting between the internationally recognized government’s Yemeni Joint Forces and the Houthi group “Ansar Allah” in Marib Province, northeastern Yemen.
A Yemeni military source told Sputnik that heavy weaponry was deployed during the clashes which occurred in the Harib front, south of Marib and adjacent to the oil-rich Shabwah province in southeastern Yemen.
“The clashes lasted for over an hour, resulting in the death of two members from the Joint Forces and three from the Houthi fighters. Nine others were injured from both sides,” the source added.
Further, the source reported that a suspected ballistic missile launched by the Houthis exploded in the sky over the Wadi district east of Marib city on the same day, fortunately without causing any casualties.
The escalation comes after a period of relative calm in the Marib fighting fronts, where similar clashes on March 23 in the Balq South front resulted in 10 deaths, including two soldiers and several injuries.
Marib has been the epicenter of severe conflicts between the Yemeni army and the Houthis since early 2021 when the Houthis launched a campaign to take complete control of Marib province, including its capital. They have since managed to capture several areas in this oil and gas-rich region.
Marib holds significant political, military, and economic importance in the Yemen conflict. It hosts the Ministry of Defense, the command of the Yemeni army, Safer oil fields and refinery, and the country’s largest gas-powered electricity generation station with a capacity of 341 megawatts.
In mid-April, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, highlighted in a briefing to the UN Security Council that the country had seen an escalation in hostilities on several fronts recently, urging parties to de-escalate tensions.
Despite these efforts, Yemen continues to experience a fragile truce since the UN announced on October 2, 2022, that the Yemeni government and the Houthis failed to reach an agreement to extend and expand a six-month-long ceasefire.
