SANAA, 29 September 2021, (TON): Sixty-seven Yemeni rebels and pro-government troops have been killed in fighting for the key city of Marib, military sources said on Monday, as the insurgents inch closer to the loyalists’ last northern bastion.

A volley of air strikes from the Saudi-led coalition targeted the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have stepped up their assault to seize the capital of the oil-rich Marib province in recent weeks.

Hundreds of fighters have died in clashes this month for Marib, a temporary home for hundreds of thousands who fled there from other frontline cities. Over two million more live in refugee camps in the province.

Military sources said “fifty-eight Houthi insurgents and nine loyalists were killed in fighting and air strikes in the provinces of Marib and Shabwa in the past 24 hours.”

The figures were confirmed by medical sources, while the rebels rarely announce their casualties.

According to the military sources “the Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen’s government launched more than 20 air strikes in the past 24 hours.”

The strikes “targeted Houthi vehicles, meeting points and reinforcements in Shabwa and Marib,” one source added.