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Over 80 Houthi fighters killed in clashes in Yemen’s Marib
Published : Monday, 21 September, 2026 at 9:56 AM
Observer Online Report
More than 80 Houthi fighters were killed in fierce clashes with the Yemeni army near Marib city, the capital of Yemen’s northeastern Marib province.
Brigadier General Yahya al-Hatemi, director of the Yemeni army’s media department, confirmed the information to Saudi-based Arab News on Sunday night. He said more than 80 Houthi fighters were killed during 24 hours of fighting from Saturday night to Sunday night.
“The army repelled the Houthi fighters in Marib. More than 80 fighters were killed after nearly 24 hours of fierce clashes, while the rest fled. Nine of their military vehicles were destroyed,” al-Hatemi told Arab News.
He said the Yemeni air force also carried out operations across Marib province while the clashes were underway in Marib city. Houthi military installations and troop concentrations in different parts of the province were targeted, he added.
Al-Hatemi did not provide any information about casualties suffered by the Yemeni army.
Marib is one of the areas that has received the largest number of people displaced by Yemen’s civil war, which began nearly a decade ago, and the Houthi group’s takeover of northern Yemen. More than two million people are currently sheltering in refugee camps across the province.
Although the Houthis control most areas of Marib province, they have yet to capture Marib city. Thousands of civilians and fighters have been killed or wounded in repeated Houthi offensives aimed at capturing the city, but the group has failed to take control of it.
The conflict between the Iran-backed Houthi group and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces intensified after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen in 2015. The situation remained relatively calm following a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but fighting resumed in late July this year.
The Houthis are currently engaged in intense fighting with Yemeni government forces and Saudi Arabia, with Houthi fighters reportedly being killed on a daily basis. According to an AFP report, funeral prayers were held on Saturday for at least 50 Houthi fighters and officials in Sanaa, Amran and Hodeidah.
However, al-Hatemi claimed that the casualties publicly acknowledged by the Houthis represent less than 10 percent of their actual battlefield losses. He estimated that between 300 and 500 Houthi fighters are being killed every day, alleging that the group is concealing the actual death toll to prevent a decline in troop morale.
Al-Hatemi told Arab News that the Houthis have little regard for the number of fighters killed, alleging that the group treats its fighters as “expendable” and prioritises achieving its objectives.
-MT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
