More than 80 Houthi fighters were killed in Yemen’s northern Marib province as the militia intensified their assault in the area, according to a Yemeni military official.
Fighting in that region of the war-torn country has raged for two days between the Houthi rebels and Yemeni government troops as airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition hit flashpoint areas outside of the city of Marib, Saudi outlet Arab News reported.
The clashes erupted as hundreds of the rebels attacked government troops, with the aim of reaching Marib city.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels have in recent months stepped up their attacks on the oil-rich Marib, which is the final stronghold of the internationally recognized government in north Yemen.
Hans Grundberg, the new UN envoy for Yemen, said on Friday that the Houthi rebels’ offensive in the Marib province “must stop.”
Yemen has been gripped by civil war since 2014, when the Houthis took control over many areas in the country’s north, including the capital Sanaa.
A US-backed, Saudi-led coalition entered the war in 2015 to support the Yemeni government and restore President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to his position of power.