MUKALLA: Yemen’s army has sent three military brigades to battlefields in the central Marib province to repulse relentless Houthi attacks on government-controlled areas as local officials warn of a humanitarian disaster due to Houthi military operations, a military source told Arab News.
“Three brigades were deployed to the battlefields to foil Houthi attacks, mainly in Juba district,” the source said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.
The deployment of new forces in Marib is happening as fierce fighting broke out on Thursday between government forces and the Houthis in Al-Kasara and Al-Mashjah, west of Marib and in Juba district, south of Yemen.
At least 150 Houthis and four government troops have been killed in heavy fighting in the Juba district alone during the past 24 hours as the Houthi militia intensified ground attacks and missile strikes on government forces defending the city of Marib.
Warplanes from the Arab coalition carried out air raids in support of government troops in Marib, targeting Houthi military vehicles and locations in Juba and other flashpoints.
“The fighting has not stopped since yesterday and the coalition’s warplanes also continually hit the Houthis,” the military source said.
Residents and local media reports said that a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis ripped through a village in Juba district, destroying four houses, in a bid to force villagers to surrender.
The provincial office of the ministry of human rights said that more than 300 civilians have been killed or wounded and more than 10,000 people forced from their homes since the start of the Houthi intensive shelling and ground attacks in Juba district, urging local and international aid organizations to offer urgent assistance to trapped families.
On Thursday, the Houthis fired more than 20 mortar shells at Al-Jarsha area in Juba, wounding dozens of people and destroying many houses, the office said.
Thousands of combatants and civilians have been killed in Marib since early this year when the Houthis resumed an offensive to recapture the energy-rich city of Marib, the government’s last bastion in the north half of the country.
Military experts have renewed calls for splintering anti-Houthi forces to unite ranks in the war against the militia, warning that the Houthis would move to other provinces after seizing control of Marib.
Khaled Al-Nasi, a Yemeni military analyst, said that the Houthis have exploited differences and infighting between their opponents to expand across Yemen.
“The fall of Marib will have serious repercussions on the south. The Houthi (group) is a malignant tumor that will spread to the north and south,” Al-Nasi said on Twitter. “This group will swallow us if we do not comprehend its danger.”
