ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 80 people were killed due to intense armed confrontations between pro-government Yemeni forces and the Houthi rebels over the past 24 hours in the country's northeastern province of Marib, according to local sources.

An official of Marib's local authority told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "scores of the Houthi rebels continued in launching a series of armed attacks on the government-controlled sites in Marib's northwestern parts."

Units of the pro-government armed forces were engaged in intense armed confrontations with the Houthi attackers and attempted to repulse their offensive against the oil-rich province of Marib, the source said.

He explained that the Iran-backed Houthi militia mobilized hundreds of its fighters from other northern provinces in preparation for launching an all-out offensive to seize Marib.

Warplanes of the Saudi Arabia-led coalition launched a number of airstrikes against the Houthi-controlled sites in Marib to support the government forces on-ground, according to the official.

An officer of the pro-government forces told Xinhua by phone saying that "the Houthis are desperately trying to make progress towards Marib but their attacks were aborted by the government soldiers."

The pro-government forces received reinforcements from the neighboring southeastern province of Shabwa and largely participated in repelling the Houthi attacks on Marib, he said anonymously.

Nearly 50 members of the Houthi rebel group and 30 pro-government soldiers were killed during the ongoing armed confrontations over the past 24 hours near Marib, according to local medical sources.

Escalation of fighting between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels has displaced nearly 400 families in the northeastern oil-rich province of Marib, a local Yemeni official said on Thursday.

"During the past three days around 400 families left their villages and residential houses due to the nonstop intense battles in the province," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He said that the displaced families left the district of Sirwah amid the exchange of indiscriminate artillery shelling between the two warring rivals.

The Iran-allied Houthi rebels stepped up their military operations and launched an large offensive to seize the oil-rich province of Marib controlled by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.

The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemen conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government.

The war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 4 million others, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. Enditem

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