Fighting in Northern Yemen has picked up once again this weekend, and as with the last couple of months, is centering on the city of Maarib, the last government-controlled city in the north, being contested by the Houthis.
Yemeni military reports 47 killed Saturday, including 16 soldiers. There was no report from the Houthis, but generally both sides report higher death tolls from the other side, and less deaths on their side.
There has been an ongoing attempt by diplomats to broker a ceasefire, and Oman in particular is trying to make way for peace talks. The Houthis seem particularly keen on seizing Maarib ahead of the talks, giving them a vast contiguous territory to negotiate from.
Maarib’s value is limited, beyond months of fighting making it a symbol for the state of war in northern Yemen. With the government also struggling with separatists in the south, this loss could force them to get out of the war.
Remember when the Saudi military was threatening to intervene in Syria, and the US press was talking about them as if they were some kind of juggernaut?
Well, the wheels done fell off of that particular juggernaut.