ADEN, Yemen, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles flared up on Sunday near Yemen's oil-rich province of Marib amid intensified airstrikes launched by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, a military official told Xinhua.
According to a local military official who asked to remain anonymous, the battles are still going on between the Houthi militia and Yemen's government forces, leaving scores of killed and injured during the past 24 hours.
The source said that the Houthis gained military progress on-ground and largely advanced towards the oil-rich city of Marib that's controlled by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
"Key areas located in Marib's western part were fully captured by the Houthi attackers who are still having the upper hand in the ongoing battles raging over the control of the strategic city," the official said.
He confirmed that Major Gen. Abdullah al-Hadhri, head of the pro-government Military Justice Department, was killed along with 23 soldiers while fighting off Iran-backed Houthis in the Mashjah battlefront in Marib during the past 24 hours.
The pro-government forces also launched intensified artillery shelling on the Houthi-controlled positions in Marib, killing more than 27 fighters and injuring several others, according to the official.
The Houthis progress comes despite an intensified air campaign launched by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition to support counter-offensive attacks of the government forces in Marib.
Meanwhile, local tribal sources confirmed to Xinhua that civilians continued to leave their houses in various areas of Marib as a result of the military showdown.
At least 2,625 families were displaced in Marib from early February to April 10, while an additional 692 families reportedly were displaced to other Yemeni provinces, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The United Nations said Yemen continues to be the world's worst humanitarian crisis and largest aid operation. However, only about 21 percent is funded of the 3.85-billion-U.S.-dollar 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan to help 16 million people.
Yemen has been mired in a civil war since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized control of several northern provinces and forced the Saudi-backed government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led coalition intervened in the Yemeni military conflict in March 2015 to support Hadi's government. Enditem
