Battles raged over the weekend around the government-held city of Marib, killing 76 Houthi fighters, a pro-government spokesman told The National on Sunday.
Since February, the Iran-backed Houthis have been trying to seize Marib, the capital of the oil-rich region and the government’s last significant pocket of territory in the north.
At least one child was killed and five wounded in rebel shelling.
The Saudi-led military coalition entered the Yemen conflict to support the internationally recognised government in 2015.
On Sunday it launched air strikes that killed 23 Houthis, raising the overall death toll among the militia fighters to 76 on Saturday, the spokesman said.
The rebels “are launching simultaneous attacks” in the areas of Kassara and Al Mashjah, north-west of the city, and in Jabal Murad in the south, a military official told AFP.
“They have made progress on the Kassara and Al Mashjah fronts, but they have been thwarted on the Jabal Murad front,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has also been thwarting near-daily attacks by Houthi drones and missiles, with the latest drone launched at the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, state media reported.
In late 2014, the Houthis overran the Yemeni capital Sanaa, 120 kilometres to the west of Marib, along with much of northern Yemen.
The loss of Marib could lead to a humanitarian disaster, as more than two million civilians displaced from fighting elsewhere have sought refuge in and around the city.
About 140 sites have sprung up in the region to provide basic shelter for up the displaced, Yemen’s government said.
The rebels have increased missile and drone strikes against neighbouring Saudi Arabia in recent months, demanding the opening of Yemen’s air space and ports. They have rejected Riyadh’s proposal for a ceasefire.
Last month the UN condemned the escalation and said a humanitarian disaster loomed.
The UN Security Council said the fighting “places one million internally displaced persons at grave risk and threatens efforts to secure a political settlement when the international community is increasingly united to end the conflict”.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the suffering would end only when a political solution between the Houthis and the internationally recognised government was found.
The conflict in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed millions to the brink of famine, in what the UN has described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
info-box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
