Dozens dead as Yemen rebels advance on Marib

Houthi fighters take full control of Kassara area and make progress on western front lines despite air attacks.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have made important gains in the battle for the government’s last northern stronghold, advancing close to the centre of Marib city despite heavy casualties, military sources said on Sunday. The rebels seized full control of the northwest Kassara battlefield and made progress on the western front lines despite air attacks by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition that backs Yemen’s government, they said. Marib and its surrounding oilfields make up the last significant pocket of government-held territory in the north, the rest of which is under rebel control, including the capital Sanaa.