Yemen: 1,000 Houthi fighters killed last month, government says

Yemen’s internationally recognised government said on Tuesday that at least 1,000 Houthi fighters were killed last month as the Arab Coalition thwarted a rebel attack in the Red Sea.

The Iran-backed rebels have been pushing on several fronts towards the last government-controlled major city, Marib, in the north and other cities, intensifying the war.

“At least 1,000 Houthis, including 215 field commanders and military officers were killed in fighting with government forces or in Arab coalition airstrikes,” Yemen’s defence ministry said.

Government forces halted several Houthi attempts to take control of Marib, defence minister Mohammed Al Maqdishi said.

The Yemeni official praised the Arab Coalition’s role in supporting the army by conducting air strikes on Houthi targets.

The international community warned that a Houthi victory in Marib would mean that they would have complete control of Yemen’s northern half.

The UN's efforts to secure a peace deal based on a nationwide ceasefire would also be severely impacted as the conflict would intensify and thousands more people would be displaced.

Houthi rebels along with officials from the Saudi-led Arab coalition began back-channel talks last year.

For months, the UN Envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, has been pushing the country’s warring sides to agree on a ceasefire deal that would pave the way for broader negotiations to end the war.

Mr Griffiths told the 15-member UN Security Council that he sent an advanced draft of the agreement to the parties, and warned the international community not to underestimate the political importance of Marib.

According to the UN, fighting in Marib has displaced nearly a million people, and threatens around 750,000 refugees who have settled in the city since the war started in 2014.

It comes as the Arab coalition, fighting on behalf of the government, thwarted a “terror” attack by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

A remote-controlled explosive-laden Houthi boat was destroyed near the western coastal city of As Salif, the coalition said.

This is a tactic used by the rebels to target ships off Yemen’s coast.

The Yemen war erupted in late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of the country’s north.

A Saudi-led military coalition intervened the following year in an effort to restore President Abdrabu Mansour Hadi’s government to power.