Houthis: Nearly 15,000 Killed Near Maarib Since Mid-June

Almost 4,000 Houthis slain since mid-October

Yemen’s Houthi movement is offering new figures on casualties suffered in the fighting over Maarib. They say nearly 15,000 have been killed since mid-June, and roughly 4,000 killed in the past month.

That reflects ongoing escalations in fighting, to the point where over 100 Houthis are killed seemingly daily now, and the deaths in Maarib are starting to spread into Bayda and Shabwa Provinces.

The Houthis began contesting Maarib in February. Now, they control much of the province, and have virtually surrounded the city, the last in North Yemen not under Houthi control.

The Houthis lost huge numbers to make these gains, while casualties on the other side are virtually unknown and scarcely reported. The Houthi deaths are more widely reported, but impossible to independently confirm.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.