On Sunday, the Houthi group completed control of the entire Al-Abdiya district in the Ma’rib governorate in central Yemen, according to a military source.
The source told The Eastern Herald , requesting anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, that “Houthi militants have completely taken control of the Abdiya district, south of Ma’rib governorate.”
He added that “the Houthi group carried out a campaign of arrests against its opponents in the district, and destroyed several houses belonging to anti-Houthi fighters.”
He pointed out that the people of the district “live in extremely difficult living conditions, without relief interventions.”
As of 07:00 GMT, there was no comment from the government forces or the Houthis on this matter.
On Friday, the Houthi group took control of areas in the Abdiya district, including the district center (Wadi Laqta’).
On Tuesday, the Yemeni government notified United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the suffering of 35,000 besieged by the Houthis in Abdiya, calling for an urgent international stance to end the siege.
For more than 3 weeks, the Houthis besieged the Abdiya district of Ma’rib governorate from various outlets, which turned it into an issue of public opinion in the country.
Yemen has been witnessing a war for nearly 7 years, which has killed more than 233,000 people, and 80 percent of the population, numbering about 30 million, has become dependent on support and aid, in the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations.
The conflict has had regional spillovers, since March 2015, as a coalition led by the neighboring Saudi Arabia has carried out military operations in support of the government forces, in the face of the Iranian-backed Houthis, who control several governorates, including the capital, Sanaa.
