AIRLINK 144.00 Decreased By ▼ -5.21 (-3.49%)
BOP 10.28 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.77%)
CNERGY 7.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.42%)
CPHL 83.10 Decreased By ▼ -1.79 (-2.11%)
FCCL 45.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.28 (-0.61%)
FFL 15.57 Decreased By ▼ -0.14 (-0.89%)
FLYNG 57.00 Decreased By ▼ -0.47 (-0.82%)
HUBC 134.35 Decreased By ▼ -1.54 (-1.13%)
HUMNL 11.50 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.26%)
KEL 5.23 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.57%)
KOSM 5.80 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-3.33%)
MLCF 82.45 Increased By ▲ 0.14 (0.17%)
OGDC 213.25 Decreased By ▼ -1.01 (-0.47%)
PACE 6.12 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.33%)
PAEL 40.95 Decreased By ▼ -0.20 (-0.49%)
PIAHCLA 23.31 Decreased By ▼ -0.64 (-2.67%)
PIBTL 8.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-2.12%)
POWER 13.62 Decreased By ▼ -0.18 (-1.3%)
PPL 165.75 Decreased By ▼ -1.67 (-1%)
PRL 31.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-1.08%)
PTC 23.81 Decreased By ▼ -0.34 (-1.41%)
SEARL 87.34 Decreased By ▼ -1.79 (-2.01%)
SSGC 44.40 Decreased By ▼ -0.42 (-0.94%)
SYM 14.77 Decreased By ▼ -0.22 (-1.47%)
TELE 7.73 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.65%)
TPLP 9.95 Increased By ▲ 0.60 (6.42%)
TRG 64.00 Decreased By ▼ -1.09 (-1.67%)
WAVESAPP 9.20 Decreased By ▼ -0.13 (-1.39%)
WTL 1.53 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-4.97%)
YOUW 4.17 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.48%)
BR100 13,054 Decreased By -65.5 (-0.5%)
BR30 37,561 Decreased By -422.4 (-1.11%)
KSE100 121,106 Decreased By -865.1 (-0.71%)
KSE30 36,731 Decreased By -182 (-0.49%)

DUBAI: Fierce fighting for Yemen’s strategic Marib city has killed 70 pro-government and Huthi rebel fighters over the past 24 hours, with battles raging on three fronts, loyalist military officials said Sunday.

The Huthis have been trying to seize Marib, the capital of an oil-rich region and the government’s last significant pocket of territory in the north, since February.

Two officials from pro-government forces told AFP that the rebels were mounting a concerted push that had left 26 loyalist soldiers dead as well as 44 from Huthi ranks. The rebels rarely disclose their losses. The new toll adds to 53 killed on both sides in the previous 24 hours, according to loyalist military officials.

One of the officials said Sunday that the rebels “are launching simultaneous attacks” in the areas of Kassara and Al-Mashjah, northwest of the city, and Jabal Murad in the south.

“They have made progress on the Kassara and Al-Mashjah fronts, but they have been thwarted on the Jabal Murad front,” he told AFP.

The other official said that warplanes from the Saudi-led military coalition, which entered the Yemen conflict to support the government in 2015, launched airstrikes that “destroyed 12 Huthi military vehicles, including four tanks and a cannon.”

However, the Saudi firepower does not seem to have halted the rebel offensive. The Iran-backed Huthis in late 2014 overran the capital Sanaa, 120 kilometres (75 miles) to the west of Marib, along with much of northern Yemen.

The loss of Marib would be a heavy blow for the Yemeni government, currently based in the southern city of Aden, and for its Saudi backers.

Comments

Comments are closed.