Fighting in Yemen's Marib intensifies amid government advances
Yemen’s bloody war is ramping up once again as the UN warns of dire consequences for civilians.
Fighting is intensifying around the Yemeni city of Marib since government forces captured neighboring Shabwa province last week.
Reuters reported today that a pro-Yemeni government militia backed by the United Arab Emirates known as the Giants Brigade has joined the fight at Marib to push back Houthi rebel forces attempting to capture the oil-rich enclave.
The report comes just two days after the UN’s special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, warned of a dangerous escalation in the seven-year conflict, which has pushed the Arab world’s poorest country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
On one side is Yemen’s government, backed by a military coalition of neighboring states led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, armed through much of the conflict by the US and other western countries, though the US has halted offensive support.
