Government Forces and Houthi Fighters Clash on a Marib Front Line

The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group continues attempting to advance in Marib to capture positions from Yemen's UN-recognized government forces. The latest attempted advance occurred yesterday, Saturday when Houthi fighters launched an attack on sites under the control of government troops.

However, military forces repelled the Houthi assault, and eight militants were killed, according to government sources.

 Eight members of the Houthi group were killed following an attack on army positions on the southern Marib battlefront, according to the Media Center of the Yemeni Armed Forces (MCYAF).  

The MCYAF indicated that the Houthi militants were forced to retreat and flee after they suffered losses in equipment.

In January, the Ansar Allah (Houthi) group planned to launch an attack on areas in Marib and Shabwah provinces to take over the oil and gas pipeline that connects Safer in Marib to Balhaf in Shabwah, a military source told Sheba Intelligence.

A military source told Sheba Intelligence yesterday that the Houthis recently installed air defense systems in Sirwah, south of Marib. The source indicated that the Houthis attempted to shoot down an American drone a few days ago over Marib, which prompted the U.S. to launch a barrage of airstrikes on Houthi sites in Sanaa. The strikes hit underground storage sites, according to U.S. officials.

However, Houthi authorities said today the U.S. airstrikes left civilian casualties. The Houthi-run Human Rights Ministry said that more than 15 strikes targeted several provinces on Friday and Saturday, including the capital Sanaa.

The ministry said, "a number of civilians were killed and injured in the attacks" without providing details about the number of victims and the places of the attacks.

Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam said on Saturday that the Yemeni Armed Forces will continue their maritime operations. He stated, "These aggressive attacks will never prevent the Yemeni nation and military from conducting attacks against Israeli-affiliated commercial vessels and ships destined to ports in the Israeli-occupied territories."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement earlier today that U.S. forces, including USS Carney (DDG 64), engaged six Houthi unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) over the southern Red Sea. Five crashed into the Red Sea, and one flew inland into Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen.

According to the statement, these actions are taken to protect freedom of navigation and make international waters safer and more secure for U.S, coalition, and merchant vessels.