Arab Coalition Says over 260 Houthis Killed in Marib Fighting

A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)
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Arab Coalition Says over 260 Houthis Killed in Marib Fighting

A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)
A fighter loyal to the legitimate Yemeni government mans a position at the Al-Jawba front line facing Iran-backed Houthi militias in the country’s northeastern province of Marib, on October 23, 2021. (AFP)

The Saudi-led Arab coalition said on Sunday its air strikes had killed more than 260 Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen in the past three days.

The deaths are the latest among roughly 1,600 Houthis the coalition claims it has killed in strikes over the past two weeks around Marib.

"Thirty-six military vehicles were destroyed and more than 264" rebel fighters were killed in the past 72 hours, the coalition said, quoted by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The strikes were carried out in Al-Jawba, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of Marib, and Al-Kassara, 30 kilometers to the northwest.

The UN Security Council called on Wednesday for "de-escalation" in Yemen, in a unanimously adopted statement to counter the risk of "large-scale famine" in the country.

The 15 council members demanded an immediate nationwide ceasefire, and sought an end to the Marib escalation.

Saudi Arabia had proposed a ceasefire initiative early in the year but the Houthis have repeatedly ignored calls for calm and peace.

"The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern for the dire humanitarian situation, including prolonged starvation and the growing risk of large-scale famine," said the Security Council statement.

They also "condemned the recruitment and use of children, and sexual violence, in conflict".

The UN children’s agency UNICEF last week said that seven years of conflict in Yemen had killed or wounded at least 10,000 children.

The figure only included child victims whose fates were known to the organization, and there were countless others, UNICEF spokesman James Elder said in Geneva.

"The war must come to an end," he said.



Hezbollah Chief Urges Lebanese State to ‘Deal Firmly' with Israel’s Violations

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivers an address from an unknown location, November 29, 2024, in this still image from video. Al Manar TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivers an address from an unknown location, November 29, 2024, in this still image from video. Al Manar TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS
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Hezbollah Chief Urges Lebanese State to ‘Deal Firmly' with Israel’s Violations

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivers an address from an unknown location, November 29, 2024, in this still image from video. Al Manar TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem delivers an address from an unknown location, November 29, 2024, in this still image from video. Al Manar TV/Reuters TV via REUTERS

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem on Saturday called on the Lebanese state to “deal firmly” with Israeli violations.

Israel and Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire in a conflict parallel to the Gaza war in November. That ceasefire, which was brokered by the United States and France, requires Israeli forces to withdraw from southern Lebanon within 60 days, and for Hezbollah to remove all its fighters and weapons from the south.

Both sides have since accused each other of breaching the ceasefire.

"Don't test our patience and I call on the Lebanese state to deal firmly with these violations that have exceeded 100," Qassem said.

He also congratulated Palestinians over the Gaza ceasefire deal, saying in a speech that it proved the "persistence of resistance" against Israel.

The remarks were the first in public by the leader of the Iran-backed Lebanese group since Israel and Hamas reached the accord on Wednesday.

"This deal, which was unchanged from what was proposed in May 2024, proves the persistence of resistance groups, which took what they wanted while Israel was not able to take what it sought," he said.
Qassem also referred to the election of Lebanon's new president, Joseph Aoun, who commanded the Lebanese military until parliament elected him as head of state on Jan.9.

"Our contribution as Hezbollah and the Amal movement led to the election of the new president with consensus," Qassem said.

The nomination of Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam had angered Hezbollah, which accused opponents of seeking to exclude it.

Salam was nominated by a majority of lawmakers last week to form a government but did not win the backing of the Shiite parties Hezbollah and Speaker Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement.

Salam said the formation of a new government would not be delayed, indicating a positive atmosphere in discussions over its composition.