SANA'A, 9 September 2021, (TON): Nearly 80 Yemen Houthi militants and pro-government troops have been killed as fighting intensifies for the northern city of Marib, officials said, nearly seven years into a war that has triggered a major humanitarian crisis.

According to loyalists “scores of Houthis were killed in airstrikes after they renewed their attempt to capture the strategic city, the internationally recognized government’s last outpost in the north.”

A government military official said “sixty Houthi rebels were killed most of them in air strikes conducted in the last 24 hours while 18 pro-government troops were killed and dozens injured in clashes over the past 48 hours.”

The figures were confirmed by other military sources, while the Houthis rarely report casualty numbers.

Battles between Yemen’s government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition, and the Iran-backed Houthis have intensified in recent days in Marib province, according to the military official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The fighting was concentrated in the north and west of the governorate.