Three civilians killed in Houthi strikes on Yemen’s Marib

Attack comes amid intensified fighting in the region

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  A Yemeni fighter allied to government forces leaves the front lines in Marib. AP

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  Yemeni fighters loyal to the government leave the front lines in Marib. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have launched an assault on the northern province. AP

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  Marib is the last government stronghold in northern Yemen. AP

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  Yemenis travel to the front lines in Marib, home to millions of displaced people who fled violence elsewhere. AP

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  A Yemeni fighter in Marib fires at Houthi forces trying to seize control of the oil-rich province. AP

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  Yemen's government says its forces have mostly repelled attacks by the Iran-backed rebels. AP

Three civilians were killed on Tuesday in a Houthi missile attack on the city of Marib in Yemen as the rebel group continues an offensive on the last government stronghold in the area.

Among the dead was a 12-year-old child, and 10 others were badly injured in the attack which hit the residential neighbourhood of Al Rawdha in central Marib, a government official told The National.

The Houthis launched two missiles into the area at about 11am.

"The child was standing near a humanitarian aid warehouse waiting to get life-saving aid for his family” when he was killed, said Abd Rabu Godeia, director of Yemen's human rights office in Marib.

"This is the seventh Houthi attack that deliberately targeted civilians in Marib this month," he added

Mr Godeia said 32 civilians have been killed and 42 others injured in attacks in June.

"Such deliberate, repeated Houthi assaults against civilians in Marib prove that the Houthi militia doesn't care about international human rights conventions and shows how this militia defies the UN and the international community," he said.

On June 10, at least eight people were killed in a combined drone and missile strike on the city.

On June 5, at least 17 civilians were killed in an explosion near a petrol station in the city centre, with Yemeni officials blaming it on a Houthi missile.

More than 130 people have been killed in clashes between the Houthis and pro-government forces in flashpoints in the west, north and south of the city, where around one million internally displaced people live.

"The clashes intensified following a large-scale offensive launched by Houthi rebels attempting to penetrate our forces' defences," Col Yahya Al Hatimi, director of the Yemeni government’s military media, told The National on Sunday.

The Houthi rebels have renewed their attempt to control the oil-rich province of Marib as they aim to strengthen their position before engaging in peace negotiations. The war has now raged for six years, costing thousands of lives and uprooting millions from their homes.

The offensive comes amid UN and US efforts to broker an end to the conflict.