More than 100 Houthi members killed as Yemeni army inflicts heavy losses on militia in Marib

Fatima Abdul Ghani

In a blatant challenge to the international community and in disregard of all international laws and norms, the Houthi militia has struck the wall with all international and UN calls to stop their terrorist attacks, as the Iranian-backed militia continues its repeated operations against Marib.

In battles described as one of the fiercest confrontations since the beginning of the Houthis’ second attack on Marib at the beginning of this year, the Yemeni army forces and tribes, with the support of coalition fighters, achieved great progress in western Marib governorate on Monday, April 19, taking control of all the areas between the Kassara and Mashjah fronts after 29 hours of battles with the Houthi militia, which left dozens dead, wounded and detained.

Field sources confirmed that the army and tribes took control over all the sites and areas between the two fronts after the restoration of Hamma al-Sayd and continued to advance towards Qarn Hailan and Wadi al-Mukhdara.

The sources indicated that the Houthis lost 54 dead and 75 prisoners in the battles when the two fronts merged, in addition to the destruction of a “tank, three armored vehicles and 13 corps” belonging to the militia, confirming the death of the Houthi leader of the Kassara front, Abu Khaled al-Sufyani, along with his companions.

The Yemeni army website stated that the battles intensified after an infiltration attempt by Houthi elements towards one of the military sites in the Mashjah front, but the army and resistance fighters thwarted the infiltration and caused all the terrorist elements to be killed or wounded.

The website pointed out that “the army artillery targeted Houthi artillery sites at the same front, and targeted separate locations of the militia and inflicted losses on lives and equipment, while the coalition aircraft destroyed an armored vehicle and hostile reinforcements on its way to the front, and in other raids targeted militia gatherings in separate locations. All of them resulted in great human and material losses among the militias.”

Reports indicated that Houthi artillery targeted the village of Dakhnan in the city of Al-Durayhimi, southern Hodeidah, and the bombing resulted in the death of a citizen and the injury of another.

On Monday, a number of Houthi militia members were killed, and others were injured as a result of the renewed battles with the Yemeni National Army forces in Saada governorate.

The commander of the Seventh Border Guard Brigade, Brigadier Fares al-Rabadi, explained, “The National Army fought fierce confrontations with the Houthi militia, in which the two sides used various types of weapons.” He stressed that the forces of the Seventh Brigade were able to defeat the militia members, who retreated to their previous positions after many of their fighters were killed or wounded.

In conjunction with the battles, the artillery of the National Army and the Hellfire missiles of the Arab coalition forces targeted sites and fortifications where the militia’s medium and heavy bullets were stationed, which led to their destruction.

Separately, the Houthi militia stormed four of the mosques in Dhamar, including the Great Mosque in the village of Hur, the Dar al-Hadith Center in the Zarajah area and the Al-Saeed Mosque in the city of Dhamar, and took those in charge of the mosques to unknown destinations.

Observers believe that with the increase in Houthi attacks and the escalation of international calls to stop them, the militia leaders showed determination to continue the war, which exposes the militias’ efforts to prolong the war and increase the suffering of Yemenis. This Houthi intransigence reveals the urgent need for actual pressure to stop the military escalation and surrender to calls for peace, given that the continued escalation, violations and racist practices of the militia sharply exacerbate the humanitarian situation in Yemen.