New strikes kill 125 Huthi rebels in Yemen
RIYADH, saudi Arabia: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced Thursday a new death toll of 125 Huthi rebels in its latest strikes around Marib, the last remaining government bastion in the north.
The coalition said the rebels were killed in “22 operations targeting vehicles and militia members” over the previous 24 hours, the Saudi state news agency reported.
According to the coalition, the operations took place in Sirwah to the east of Marib city and Al-Bayda province to the south and also destroyed 14 military vehicles.
The Saudi-led coalition has been reporting high death tolls in almost daily strikes since October amid a campaign to prevent the rebels from capturing the strategic northern city.
The Huthis rarely comment on the tolls, which have surpassed 3,000 in total according to coalition figures. AFP cannot independently verify these numbers.
Earlier on Thursday, the coalition said it conducted “air strikes on legitimate military targets in Sanaa and Saada (in the north) including sites for ballistic missiles, drones and weapons depots” belonging to the Huthis.
The coalition intervened militarily in 2015 to prop up the internationally recognised Yemeni government after the Iran-backed Huthis seized the capital Sanaa the year before.
Since the start of the conflict, tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced, precipitating what the UN has described as the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.