ADEN, Yemen, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- As the Yemeni government and the Houthi militia are sending more troops to the frontline of Marib province, it seems that a large-scale battle over the final government stronghold in northern Yemen will be unfolded soon, analysts said.

For the past weeks, the Houthi group continued in advancing on the ground and seized several key areas from the government's grip near the city of Marib, capital of the oil-rich province, amid the intensified Saudi bombardment on its fighters.

Ferocious attacks are still being launched by the Houthis against Marib city, which is densely populated and houses two million displaced Yemeni people who fled their war-torn hometowns.

Local Yemeni analysts believe that both the Yemeni government and the Houthis are managing to fully capture the city of Marib, as it hosts the largest oil and gas field in the impoverished Arab country.

Mohsen Naji, an Aden-based military expert, told Xinhua that the strategic Marib is on the brink of a large-scale final battle between the Houthis, who have the upper hand at the moment, and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.

"The Houthis unambiguously have the military clout as they are fighting fiercely and have the determination against the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces," he said.

"Some Marib's key districts were completely captured by the Houthis and the government's military units proved incapable of repelling the continuous rebel attacks against the city during the past months," he noted.

However, Naji said that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition will not easily allow the Houthis to take control of Marib city, as it heavily increased the bombardment against the rebel-held sites in and around the city over the past days.

Adel Al-Shujaa, a professor of political science at Sanaa University, told Xinhua that "the Houthis launched a series of attacks against the strategic oil-rich city but they failed to advance in the area, as the city's local tribesmen are strongly rejecting the presence of the rebel militia."

"At the beginning of the war, the Houthis tried to attract or subdue the tribes of Marib to their ranks but faced strong rejection. Then they resorted to besieging the city as punishment and recently the rebels are using their military force against Marib," he said.

Al-Shujaa noted that the battle over Marib is significant and won't end soon, as it represents a watershed for the war in Yemen. The fall of Marib will lead to rearranging the geographic map of Yemen.

Meanwhile, Fares Albeel, a college professor and political commentator, told Xinhua the failure of the Yemeni government to engage the Houthis on other fronts helps the group to make substantial headway in Marib.

"The cessation of military operations against Houthis on other Yemeni fronts was exploited by the rebels to advance towards Marib, and the inconsistency of military decisions among the pro-government factions helped the rebels," he said.

Earlier in November, the Houthi group achieved on-ground military progress and captured the center of Al Jubah's district in the southern part of Marib province and other nearby key areas, after days of deadly fighting with the Yemeni government forces.

Many families were displaced, and hundreds of people were killed or injured during the non-stop armed confrontation between the warring sides over the control of Marib province.

The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched in February a major offensive on Marib in an attempt to seize control of the oil-rich province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

Yemen has been mired in civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)