SANAA, 26 September 2021, (TON): Military and medical sources told media “more than 140 rebels and pro-government troops have been killed this week as fighting intensifies for Yemen’s strategic northern city of Marib.”

Multiple military sources said “at least 51 loyalists were killed in the past four days, most of them in clashes in the province of Shabwa and the neighboring governorate of Marib.”

They added that at least 93 Iran-backed Houthi rebels also died in the fighting and from airstrikes by the military coalition backing the government.

The Houthis rarely report casualty numbers, but figures were confirmed by medical sources.

The Houthis in February escalated their efforts to seize Marib, the government’s last northern stronghold, and the fighting has killed hundreds on both sides.

According to the military sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Houthis have made advances and seized four districts, one in Marib and three in Shabwa.

Yemen’s conflict flared in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting intervention to prop up the internationally recognized government the following year.