Al Mukalla: On Tuesday, the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, launched two ballistic missiles at Marib in central Yemen as they gathered numerous fighters and military hardware outside the city, according to local government officials.

Two missiles landed close to a military base and a camp for internally displaced people between Tadaween and Al-Shabwani, north of Marib, according to Rashad Al-Mekhlafi, a military official with Yemen's Armed Forces Guidance Department, who spoke to Arab News by phone. Al-Mekhlafi reported that "the missiles exploded in an open area in Marib without causing any injuries."

The missile attack occurred as the Houthis were assembling large military equipment reserves and fighters outside Marib in preparation for an offensive on the energy-rich city, according to three government officials who spoke to Arab News. A truce negotiated by the UN and put into effect in April of last year had stopped the attack.

Also Read: Saudi Arabia transfers $2 billion to the Pakistani central bank as a "lifeline to Islamabad"

Al-Mekhlafi claimed that "they have gathered fighters and enormous military hardware on the southern, western, northern, and east-northeast outskirts of Marib." This arsenal includes armoured vehicles, cannons, and drone launchers. Arab News was informed about the Houthi military gatherings outside Marib by two additional government sources.

Yemen's military has sent battalions and heavy weapons to the city's outskirts to defend against the approaching attack. "We are equipped to thwart any assault. With newly graduated military battalions, including sniper and infantry forces, we strengthened the front lines. Al-Mekhlafi asserted that what the Houthis were unable to accomplish in the past would now be possible

Beginning in 2021, the Houthis launched a significant military offensive on Marib. This offensive resulted in the deaths of thousands of combatants and civilians, and it was widely denounced locally and internationally.

The Houthis were forced to halt military operations after coming closer to the city than ever before but failing to take control of it or its oil and gas fields.

Also Read: On a website run by the UK foreign office, a decade-old article contained a racist slur

The Yemeni government insists that it will uphold its obligations to de-escalate the situation in Marib and other flashpoint areas of the country, but it will retaliate against any military actions.

"We are aware that the Houthis have gathered strength in Marib and along the Lahj and Dhale administrative borders. Even though Saudi, UN, American, and European mediators advise caution, the legitimate government is ready to repel any attack, a government official who wished to remain anonymous told Arab News.

Experts on Yemen believe that the Houthis have relocated significant military hardware and weaponry outside Marib by taking advantage of the Arab coalition's suspension of bombings as part of the truce.

Also Read: The House of Lords and the UK government are at odds over the controversial immigration bill

The Houthis had been determined to take over Marib since the start of the war, not only because of its strategic location, oil and gas fields, and significant power plant, but also because it vehemently opposed the Houthi military takeover of power in Yemen, according to Mohammed Al-Salehi, editor of the news website Marib Press. "Marib is the governorate that has steadfastly opposed the Houthi militia from day one, and it is home to all opponents of the Houthis," Al-Salehi declared.