Further complicating the situation in the southern Shabwah Province, the Houthis fired a missile against the area, along with explosive drones, killing at least 10 Yemeni soldiers.
The soldiers had just been sent to the area as reinforcements to contest control of the province, which has been seized by UAE-backed forces. This shows rising rival forces in the area.
Shabwah is being presented in the reports as “oil rich,” though in practice it just borders Maarib, and is the coastal area from which oil is exported. Its proximity to Maarib also has the Houthis interested in controlling the supply lines.
The new fighting is raising concern of further fragmenting of the war, with the pro-Saudi government forces facing internal rivals and the Houthis. The Houthis control almost all of northern Yemen.
Houthi Missile Strike Kills 10 Yemen Soldiers
Attack struck contested Shabwah Province
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.
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