Arabic version: مأرب وتعز في صدارة القتال في اليمن

According to Al Jazeera, Yemen’s government forces have launched air attacks against the Iran-backed Houthis as the group gains ground in government-held positions. Fighting has shifted towards Marib, the government’s last remaining northern stronghold and a major oil and gas hub, while battles continue in western Taiz.

Analysts say control of Marib could decisively alter the war’s balance. The area contains Yemen’s largest gas and oil fields, offering control of important energy infrastructure and potential revenue. Saddam al-Huraibi, a Yemeni political commentator, said the Houthis have sought dominance over Marib’s resources for more than a decade. Adam Baron of the New America think tank described a Houthi capture as a possible “watershed moment”, while saying government forces would view the battle as existential.

Marib also lies on the easiest road from northern Yemen to Shabwa Governorate and al-Mahra Governorate. The city has received displaced people from areas that fell under Houthi control since Sanaa was taken in 2014. IOM figures from 2023 recorded nearly 2.8 million internally displaced people in Yemen, with 58 percent in Marib. Since the beginning of September, more than 85,000 people have been forced from their homes, and more than 2,000 have fled to Djibouti’s northern shores.

Taiz is strategically important as a bridge between the Houthi-held north, government-held south and the Red Sea coast. Control could affect movement of weapons and supplies towards Aden. Its western coast reaches towards Mocha and the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a 20km waterway between Yemen and Djibouti that connects Europe and Asia. Before fighting resumed, about 12 percent of global trade passed through the strait. The Houthis have recently taken most of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, including Mayyun Island.