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JEDDAH: Saturday airstrikes by Saudi-led coalition fighter jets halted a tank and infantry offensive in Marib by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia in Yemen.
The coalition said it launched the airstrikes to “thwart the Houthi militia’s attempt to advance towards Marib in Al-Kasrah,” northwest of the city of Marib, the last remaining northern stronghold of the Yemeni government. He said it had destroyed Houthi military equipment, including tanks, and caused “heavy losses”.
A Yemeni government official said the coalition had launched at least 20 attacks. “The rebels launched a violent attack, including with tanks, on Al-Kasrah and the attack was foiled with coalition air support,” the official said.
“In the last 48 hours, at least 70 combatants were killed, including 22 from government forces, and dozens were injured in clashes.”
Analysts say the Houthis have stepped up their offensive in Marib in an attempt to capture territory as a lever in eventual peace talks.
Losing the city would be a blow to the Yemeni government, but it would also threaten catastrophe for civilians, including at least one million displaced people taking refuge in the region, many of them in desolate camps in the surrounding desert.
HIGH OR TALLLIGHT
The Houthis continued to attack Saudi civilians. The coalition intercepted and destroyed an armed drone carrying explosives over Khamis Mushayt on Saturday.
However, analysts also say the city is unlikely to fall to the Houthis, due to the overwhelming coalition aerial firepower.
Meanwhile, the Iranian-backed militia continued its attacks on Saudi civilians on Saturday. The coalition intercepted and destroyed an armed drone carrying explosives over the city of Khamis Mushayt in southern Saudi Arabia.
The coalition said it was taking “all operational measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure against terrorist attacks.”
The attack followed a Houthi armed drone strike on Friday against an oil refinery in Riyadh, the second major attack this month on Saudi energy infrastructure. Friday’s attack sparked widespread international condemnation that continued into Saturday.
“These aggressions must stop,” the EU said. “The ongoing escalation in and around Yemen is undermining the efforts of the UN special envoy, delaying the prospect of a solution to the conflict and increasing regional instability,” he said.
Russia also condemned the attack on the refinery on Saturday and urged “all parties to the conflict in Yemen to strictly abide by the provisions of international humanitarian law.”
Moscow called on all parties to “immediately and completely abandon military operations that lead to the destruction of civilian infrastructure and casualties among the civilian population.”
