The Saudi-led military alliance that intervened in the 2015 war in Yemen announced on Thursday that 125 Shiite Houthi rebels had been killed in more than 20 airstrikes over the past 24 hours in the strategically important northern province of Marib. of the forces of the internationally recognized government in this field, where conflicts have been raging since the beginning of the year.
The Riyadh alliance has been announcing daily for a month that it has inflicted heavy casualties on the rebels with the air strikes it launches. .
The bombings do not seem to be holding back the guerrillas. The alliance carried out "22 airstrikes destroying 14 military vehicles and killing 125" insurgents in Sirwa (west of Marib) and al-Baida (south), according to a statement broadcast by the official Saudi news agency SPA. Earlier in the day, he said he had targeted "ballistic missiles and drones, as well as Houthi weapons depots" in Sanaa and Saada.
This last city, north of the capital, a guerrilla stronghold, is one of the worst-hit areas in the war. Since the outbreak of armed conflict in Yemen in 2014, the Iranian-backed Houthis have gradually taken control of almost the entire north, including the capital but not Marib.
The loss of the city and the oil-rich province of the same name would be a disastrous development for the internationally recognized government and its main protector, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The new hostilities were recorded as the UN special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, completed his three-day visit to the country yesterday. In a press release he issued, he stressed once again "the need for the warring parties to reach a comprehensive solution through a constructive dialogue."
The conflict of more than seven years in the poorest country of the Arabian Peninsula has claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, the vast majority of civilians, and displaced millions more, according to international aid organizations.
According to the UN, the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world is unfolding in Yemen in recent years.
(KYPE-APE-BPE-AFP / GBA)