Battles in the Marib province, east of the Yemeni capital Sanaa, are continuing to exhaust the Iran-backed Houthi militias.
Fierce fighting continued on Saturday, especially in western and northwestern parts of the province. The national army, meanwhile, continues to make advances in the southwestern Taiz province.
The Houthis persist on ignoring international and United Nations calls for calm in Marib and demands for a ceasefire that would pave the way for peace talks.
The legitimate government has cast doubt on the sincerity of these calls after the militias escalated their attacks and the international community’s failure to take any action to deter them.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said: “The Houthi escalation demonstrates that its decision to go to war does not lie in its hands and that it is simply a proxy to carry out Iran’s expansionist agenda.”
He added that the Houthis are just an armed proxy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and that they are being managed by Tehran’s so-called envoy in Sanaa. He accused the militias of harming Saudi Arabia and threatening international marine navigation.
Moreover, he noted that the Houthis escalated their attacks after the US administration of Joe Biden decided to revoke the militias’ terrorist designation.
This demonstrates that the militias do not believe in peace and their ideology is based on killing, making them unqualified to play a constructive role in peace, remarked Eryani.
The escalation demands that the international community blacklist the Houthis and provide serious support for the government in its efforts to end their coup and reclaim the Yemeni state, he urged.
As the minister voiced his plea, the Houthis severed communication lines connecting Sanaa, which is under their control, with government-held regions, including Marib.
Observers interpreted the move as retaliation to the militias’ losses on the ground and failure to advance in oil- and gas-rich Marib.
Local field sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Yemeni military, with air cover from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, repelled on Saturday new Houthi offensives in western and northwester Marib.
Military media reported that more than 83 militants were killed in the battles that lasted more than 35 hours.
A military spokesman said that the army’s strategy has succeeded in depleting Houthi forces.
In Taiz, the army liberated several hills in the southeastern front as the militias retreated from the area. The military has launched operations in Taiz, which has been besieged by the Houthis for years.
