Yemeni government pushes back against Houthis by taking territory in Marib

Harib district is a strategically vital part of northern Yemen

Fighters from the pro-government Giants Brigades on patrol in Yemen’s Shabwa governorate. AFP

Yemen’s internationally recognised government has taken control of a city in Marib governorate, the Saudi ambassador to the country said on Tuesday.

The Houthis have lost Harib district, south of Marib, the strategically vital northern city they have been fighting to hold for months.

“Harib in Marib is in the hands of the Yemeni government,” Saudi ambassador to the country Mohammed Al Jaber said on Twitter.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition at the request of the Yemen government after it was forced from the capital city, Sanaa, by the rebels in 2014.

On Tuesday, the coalition launched a new military operation against what it called “legitimate” targets in Sanaa in response to the Houthi threats to civilian lives.

Government forces also said they had regained strategic sites between Marib and the governorate of Shabwa.

Internet services have largely been restored in Yemen after a four-day cut, residents said.

The coalition has stepped up strikes against the rebels in response to increasing drone and missile attacks on neighbouring countries.

The Houthis have repeatedly struck Saudi Arabia and have escalated attacks recently.

They launched ballistic missile attacks on the kingdom and in the UAE on Monday morning.

The two missiles aimed at the Emirates and one at Saudi Arabia were intercepted.

The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union has condemned the attacks, as have countries including the US, France, Egypt, Hungary, Argentina, Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

Last week, a Houthi drone attack killed three civilians in the UAE, a member of the coalition that supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government.

On Friday, the UN Security Council condemned the attacks on Abu Dhabi as “heinous terrorist crimes”.

The Iran-backed rebels continue to hold the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, and large areas of the north after nearly seven years of civil war.