SANA’A, 6 May, 2021 (TON): On Wednesday Yemen’s prime minister visited the battleground city of Marib in a show of strength amid growing signs that an Iran-backed Houthi militia offensive to capture the province is faltering.

Maeen Abdul Malik Saeed chaired a meeting of senior government and military officials in the city and said that President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi had ordered increased military support to government troops fighting the Houthis.

The prime minister said, “History is being written now in Marib. All of Yemen is following Marib and we came to Marib to be part of this important moment … the state and its capabilities are with you.”

“We are not begging for peace that establishes a fragile and racist state on Iran’s model and its militias in the region,” he said.

Saeed further added that the government wanted a sustainable peace agreement that established a strong division between Yemen and Iran.

Marib Governor Marib Sultan Al-Arada said the Houthi offensive had triggered “huge” displacement as thousands of people fled the fighting. “Yemenis can never enjoy peace as long as the state’s weapons are in the militia’s hands,” the governor said.

On the front lines to the west of Marib, the last major city under complete government control in Yemen’s north, the battles are still fierce. Marib has extensive oil and gas reserves. The Houthis are desperate to capture it as leverage in UN-brokered peace talks, but the government is equally determined to defend it.

The Houthi rebels, despite six years of Saudi-led military intervention to counter their attempted takeover of the Yemeni state, are on the offensive.