THE Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said today that more than 218 Huthi rebels were killed in air strikes around Marib city, the internationally recognised government’s last northern bastion.

The Iran-backed Huthi rebels rarely comment on losses, and AFP could not independently verify the toll. 

“Twenty-four military vehicles were destroyed and more than 218” insurgents were killed in strikes in the past 72 hours in two districts, according to the official Saudi Press Agency, which has since October 11 issued near-daily reports of bombing around Marib, capital of the oil-rich province of the same name.

Since then, the coalition – which has been fighting in Yemen to support the government for almost seven years – says it has killed around 2,200 insurgents in the Marib area. 

The latest bombing was carried out in Al-Jawba, about 50km south of Marib, and Al-Kassara, 30km to the northwest.

The Huthi rebels have reportedly said they were tightening their grip around Marib city, adding it was “only a matter of time” until they seize it. 

They began a major push to seize Marib in February and, after a lull, renewed their offensive since last month. 

The Yemeni civil war began in 2014 when the Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa, 120km west of Marib, prompting Saudi-led forces to intervene to prop up the government the following year. 

Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced in what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. – AFP, October 31, 2021.