Clashes between former Yemeni administration’s army and Houthi forces continue in Marib despite truce arrangements. The United Nations and global community are still seeking ways to end the futile and long-time battle in Yemen.
A truce agreement between the various active parties in Yemen conflict seems to have secured no achievement. Soon after the UN brokered the cease-fire, the Houthi movement launched an offensive northern regions surrounding the borders.
The battle in Marib has displayed no intense confrontations as previous Houthi military campaigns. Nonetheless, it raises concerns about the future of the escalations in the country. The United Nations and the international institutions are more confident about reaching peace agreement to finish the war in Yemen.
In southern part of Marib, Yemeni army positions faced attacks by the Houthis, according to claims by unknown sources. The clashes began at the opening of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, earlier in the current month. “We’ve managed to repel them. They are intensively using explosive-laden drones against our positions and vehicles, and I have lost a comrade,” an army soldier claimed in Yemen.
After an operation by soldiers supported by the UAE, Houthi troops suffered reverses in neighboring Shabwah governorate in early 2022.
According to a military source with the Yemeni Defense Ministry in the region, they have started sending extra forces to the front areas in Marib. “They [the Houthis] have redeployed fighters and vehicles, including tanks, in large numbers from elsewhere, including Taiz, Hodeidah and Hajjah front lines to Marib recently,” the official claimed.
The Giants Brigade troops movements that forced the Houthi troops out of the Hareeb district’s center two months ago. Following that, fighting in Marib has subsided and little has changed on the front lines. Sanaa, Yemen strategic capital, is in the western side of Marib.
Marib Foils UN Efforts
Hans Grundberg, the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, said earlier this month that the warring factions had accepted to suspend aggressive military activities. A two-month cease-fire was signed within Yemen and beyond its borders, unprecedented in six years.
Air raids by the Saudi Arabia and its alliance and cross-border Houthi assaults on Saudi Arabia have ceased. The combat in Marib, meanwhile, has persisted. “Although the truce is broadly holding, reports of military operations, particularly around Marib, are concerning and must be addressed urgently through the mechanisms established by the truce,” UN Special Envoy said last weeks in a UNSC session.
The Houthis have been charged with violating the cease-fire by attacking their sites in Marib, Taiz, and Hodeidah, according to claims by Yemeni army sources.
The Houthi sources allege that the Saudi-led alliance and the Yemeni former administration are not abiding by the cease-fire agreement. Their violations include allowing petroleum tankers unfettered access to Hodeidah and resuming flights from Airport in the capital.
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has kept the services out of the public access. “They are still obstructing flights and are stopping ships. We face opponents who do not respect their commitments; there is no doubt that the truce is on its way to failure if they do not stop their violations and stalling,” a major Houthi figure asserted.
According to vague claims by a Yemeni government military officer, the Houthi movement would try to use the cease-fire and the end of Saudi air attacks to secure an achievement against their forces.
Air attacks have been crucial in protecting the military positions, inflicting huge losses on Houthi forces and halting their progress. As such, opposition forces deem them necessary to remain an active force in the conflict. The bloody result is for the civilians.
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