Yemen’s government troops on Tuesday pushed into the Houthi-controlled areas south of the central city of Marib for the first time in months, local officials and media reports said.

The government’s Giants Brigade, backed by the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, seized control of a large swathe of land in the district of Hareb in Marib province, less than a day after achieving full control of the oil-rich province of Shabwa, the Giants Brigades said in a brief statement.

The Iran-backed Houthis seized control of Hareb, Al-Abedia and parts of Juba districts in September last year shortly after making rapid progress in the neighboring provinces of Al-Bayda and Shabwa.

The Giants Brigades had previously pushed the Houthis from Bayhan and Ouselan districts in Shabwa and later rolled into the Houthi territory in Al-Bayda.

Saudi-led coalition warplanes have intensified strikes over the past 10 days, targeting Houthi-controlled cities, including Sanaa, and the militia’s reinforcements across the country.

 

-Agencies