250 Houthis Killed in Marib, Taiz Battles as Yemen Army Makes Advances

Yemeni forces west of Taiz on Tuesday. (AFP)
Yemeni forces west of Taiz on Tuesday. (AFP)
TT

250 Houthis Killed in Marib, Taiz Battles as Yemen Army Makes Advances

Yemeni forces west of Taiz on Tuesday. (AFP)
Yemeni forces west of Taiz on Tuesday. (AFP)

The Yemeni army continued to make advances in the battlefronts in the Marib, Taiz and Hajjah provinces dealing the Iran-backed Houthi militias heavy losses.

Military media said at least 250 Houthis were killed in the fiercest battles yet to take place in the three provinces.

Defense Minister Mohammed al-Maqdashi stressed on Tuesday that the legitimate authorities were determined to restore the state’s authority and end the Houthi coup.

The people, armed forces and legitimate leadership are determined to defeat the militias and liberate the Yemenis from the crimes, violations and suffering imposed by the terrorist Houthis, he added as he toured the al-Kasara frontlines west of Marib.

He said that the Houthis had amassed all of their forces, tanks and weapons, some of which they had seized and others which were provided by Tehran, towards their final stand on the border between Marib and al-Jawf.

Their forces, however, have fallen before the perseverance of the army, he declared.

On the ground, the military managed to turn around Houthis lines in al-Kasara and cut their supply routes amid heavy fighting and coalition air strikes that destroyed the militias’ reinforcements.

A field source said at least 80 Houthis were killed and dozens wounded in the fighting. The coalition destroyed six Houthi vehicles that were bringing in reinforcements, killing everyone on board.

In Hajjah, military media said 28 militants were killed during battles with the army on the Abs district front. Field sources estimated that some 100 Houthis have been killed in two days of fighting there.

Meanwhile, military sources said the army has made significant advances on the Jabal al-Habshi front west of Taiz amid a complete collapse in Houthi ranks. The forces launched a widescale attack on the al-Ainain front, liberating several areas.

Dozens of Houthis were killed and injured in the fighting.

The army underlined the importance of regions that were liberated north of Jabal al-Habshi, saying that they overlook the main route (Hajda-al-Ramada) that connects Taiz city to the Hodeidah province.

Government forces in Taiz are seeking to capture the strategic town of al-Burj and complete the liberation of northwestern regions in the province.

In retaliation to their losses on various fronts, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at residential neighborhoods in northwestern parts of Marib city.

Medical sources in Taiz said that Houthi shelling on villages in Maqbana left a child dead and another wounded.

Yemeni rights groups have said that Houthi ballistic missiles and armed drone attacks on residential and civilian areas in Marib have killed 918 civilians, including women and children.



Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
TT

Blinken Seeks to Avert Syria Turmoil with Europeans on Final Trip

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) met French FM Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris. Ludovic MARIN / POOL/AFP

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Türkiye, capping what is likely his final trip.
Blinken had been expected to remain in Italy through the weekend to join President Joe Biden but the outgoing US leader scrapped his trip, which was to include an audience with Pope Francis, to address wildfires sweeping Los Angeles.
Blinken, on a trip that has taken him to South Korea, Japan and France, was heading on Thursday from Paris and will meet for dinner in Rome with counterparts from Britain, France, Germany and Italy.
In Paris on Wednesday, Blinken said the United States was united with the Europeans on seeking a peaceful, stable Syria, a month after the opposition factions toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
But concerns have mounted over Türkiye’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups, supported by air strikes, and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people on Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on Washington's main stated priority -- battling the ISIS extremist group -- but Türkiye says the SDF has links with PKK militants at home.
Blinken in Paris said that Türkiye had "legitimate concerns" and that the SDF should gradually be integrated into a revamped national army, with foreign fighters removed.
"That's a process that's going to take some time. And in the meantime, what is profoundly not in the interest of everything positive we see happening in Syria would be a conflict," Blinken told reporters.
"We'll work very hard to make sure that that doesn't happen."
Blinken said he expected no change on goals in Syria from US President-elect Donald Trump, who takes over on January 20.
During his last term, Trump briefly said he would accede to a plea by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pull out US troops that have been working in Syria with the Kurdish forces.
But he backed down after counter-appeals led by French President Emmanuel Macron.
When to ease sanctions?
Also on the agenda in Rome will be whether and when to ease sanctions on Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday that some sanctions "could be lifted quickly".
The US Treasury Department said this week it would ease enforcement on restrictions that affect essential services.
But US officials say they will wait to see progress before any wider easing of sanctions -- and the Biden administration is unlikely in its final days to accept the political costs of removing Syria's victorious Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels from the US "terrorism" blacklist.
While Western powers are largely in synch on Syria, some differences remain.
Blinken reiterated US calls on European countries to repatriate citizens of theirs detained in Syria for working with the ISIS group and languishing in vast camps run by the Kurdish fighters.
France and Britain, with painful memories of attacks by homegrown extremists, have little desire to bring militants back.
The Rome talks come a week after the French and German foreign ministers, Jean-Noel Barrot and Annalena Baerbock, jointly visited Damascus and met new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to encourage an inclusive transition.
Sharaa, has promised to protect minorities after the fall of the iron-fisted but largely secular Assad.
A senior US official in turn said last month on meeting Sharaa that Washington was dropping a $10-million bounty on his head.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will pay his own visit to Syria on Friday, during which he plans to announce an initial development aid package.
Italy's hard-right government has pledged to reduce immigration. Millions of Syrians sought asylum in Europe during the civil war, triggering a backlash in some parts of the continent that shook up European politics.
In contrast to other major European powers, Italy had moved to normalize ties with Assad just weeks before he fell, presuming at the time that he had effectively won the war.