Air strikes kill more than 260 Houthis in Yemen
More than 260 Houthi rebels have been killed near Marib city in air strikes carried out by the Saudi-led coalition.
The strikes hit targets in Al Jawba, about 50 kilometres south of Marib, and Al Kassara, about 30km to the north-west.
Thirty-six military vehicles were destroyed and at least 264 rebel fighters were killed in the latest strikes, the coalition told the official Saudi Press Agency on Sunday.
About 1,600 Houthis have been killed in strikes around Marib over the past two weeks, the coalition said.
Marib is the last area of northern Yemen held by the internationally recognised government.
The coalition has conducted almost daily air strikes around the city in recent weeks.
In February, the Iranbacked Houthis began an offensive to seize the city and have increased their violence since a lull last month.
Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree told the group’s Al Masirah TV channel that the offensive would continue.
The Yemeni civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, 120 kilometres west of Marib.
Millions have since been displaced, with the UN saying Yemen faces the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
The UN Security Council has issued a unanimously adopted statement calling for de-escalation to counter the risk of “large-scale famine” in the country.
The council demanded an end to the escalation in Houthi violence in oil-rich Marib province.
“The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern for the dire humanitarian situation, including prolonged starvation and the growing risk of largescale famine,” it said.
It also “condemned the recruitment and use of children, and sexual violence, in conflict”.
A UN report published in June found the rebels have recruited more than 130 children to fight.
Last week, the UN children’s agency said at least 10,000 children had been killed or wounded in Yemen.
That figure could be an undercount, with the fate of some children still unknown, Unicef spokesman James Elder said.
“The war must come to an end,” Mr Elder said.