SANAA, Yemen (AP) – The forces of the internationally recognized government of Yemen have recently managed to take territory from the Houthi rebels, officials and tribal leaders from both sides said on Sunday.
Government forces earlier this month launched an offensive against rebel positions in western Hajjah province and took over more than twelve villages in Abs district. The move is part of a trip to the main port of Hodeida, which handles about 70% of Yemen’s commercial and humanitarian imports.
Clashes also erupted in the mountainous Maqbana area in Taiz province as government forces tried to join Yemen’s west coast, officials added.
The Saudi-led coalition, which also fights Iranian-backed rebels, has launched several airstrikes on their positions in Hajjah and Taiz.
More than four dozen fighters from the two sides have been killed in the past 24 hours in Hajjah and Taiz, according to them, with more than 100 others wounded.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to inform the media, while the tribal leaders did so for fear of retaliation.
The internationally recognized government of Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has apparently tried to open new fronts to force the Houthis to stop their week-long offensive on the central province of Marib, the last stronghold of the government in the northern half of Yemen.
However, the rebels did not make significant progress on the ground, amid fierce resistance and heavy losses, mostly due to airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, which opposed the march of Houthi into Marib.
The attack on Marib threatened to exacerbate the already serious humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Marib is hiding about a million Yemenis who have fled Houthi offensive elsewhere in the country.
The intensified fighting comes amid an international and regional diplomatic effort to end the conflict. U.S. government Joe Biden’s government has accused the Houthis of wanting to take more territory.
Tim Lenderking, envoy of Biden in Yemen, last week urged the Houthi to agree to a ceasefire proposal presented in recent days.
The conflict in Yemen began with the takeover of the capital Sanaa in 2014 by the Houthis. A Saudi-led coalition linked to the Hadi exile has been fighting the rebels since March 2015.
The war in Yemen has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis and millions of people are suffering from food and medical shortages. According to a database project monitoring the violence, some 130,000 people have been killed, including fighters and civilians.